Younger tooth treatment benefit

Children under 10 do well after orthodontic treatment to straighten "buck teeth", according to a study.

Traditionally treatment is often delayed until the early teenage years when adult teeth have arrived.

But the largest ever orthodontic treatment trial concluded that techniques worked to correct problems in children aged as young as eight.

The Manchester University study revealed that it gave the patients a social and psychological boost.

Thousands of children each year undergo orthodontic work to realign their teeth and improve both the cosmetic appearance of their bite and the way it functions.

The study, of 174 children aged eight to 10, involved the use of a "twin block" device - removable plates worn in the top and bottom of the mouth - in some to alter the growth of the jaw so that the top row of teeth connected as they should to the bottom row.

It found 84% of the children with the twin block approach successfully had their teeth realigned without causing changes to their facial bones.

Happy

Questionnaires were taken to make sure that children this young were happy with the treatment and its results.

Most dramatically it's changed children's perception of themselves Professor Kevin O'Brien, University of Manchester

These suggested that confidence and self-esteem rose significantly after the treatment, and did not detect any ill-effects.

Professor Kevin O'Brien, who led the study, published in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, said: "We're extremely pleased by the results of this trial.

"We've successfully realigned children's teeth but most dramatically it's changed children's perception of themselves.

"They felt happier, were less anxious and felt they were more popular - in addition they felt they were teased less and had less negative comments about their teeth."

'No pressure'

Russell Leeburn, an orthodontic practitioner from Ipswich in Suffolk, told BBC News Online that there were definite advantages to dealing with some problems early.

"In many cases, it will reduce the amount of work that needs to be done when the child is older.

"You are moving the whole jaw rather than just teeth to correct the problem.

"Obviously, if a child of that age did not seem particularly keen to go ahead with it, there would be no pressure to go ahead."