What conditions do I need to straighten my teeth? How can you tell if a child is short? Is there an early way to detect curvature of the spine? Parents who are concerned about the health of children and adolescents will encounter similar problems.
Recently, in the outpatient hall of Shenshan Central Hospital of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, a free clinic and popular science lecture activities were carried out, focusing on the growth of adolescents from the perspectives of orthodontics, short stature and spine surgery. The event was delivered by Cheng Weiqi, orthodontist of the Department of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Peng Yan, Chief Physician of the Department of Spine and Orthopedics, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, and Liu Zulin, attending physician of the Children's Medical Center of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
Attending physician Cheng Weiqi: Malocclusion is harmful When is orthodontics more appropriate?
In addition to genetic factors, there are also environmental factors such as bottle feeding for more than one year, chewing sideways, sucking fingers, sticking out the tongue, biting the lips and breathing through the mouth. When a child has malocclusion, the harm can be manifold.
1. The teeth are crowded, the teeth are difficult to brush clean, and bacteria and various residues settle between the teeth, causing caries and periodontal disease
2. Abnormal occlusion of teeth will affect children's language ability and chewing function, severe mandibular protrusion will cause difficulty in swallowing, mandibular retraction will affect normal breathing, and long-term abnormal occlusion will cause abnormal development of temporomandibular joints, joint pain and snapping.
3. All kinds of malocclusion will affect the child's facial development, and may show deformities such as open lips and teeth, protruding double jaws, short or long face, etc., resulting in psychological burden and easy to appear psychological disorders
4. Due to the decline of chewing function, it causes indigestion in children, and various gastrointestinal diseases will follow.
During the live broadcast, some netizens asked when orthodontics is more appropriate? Attending physician Cheng Weiqi replied: The World Orthodontic Association recommends that parents can find a professional orthodontist to evaluate whether orthodontics are needed if their child is found to have crooked teeth when he is 7 years old. Of course, it is normal for individual children to have mild crowding of teeth just in the period of tooth replacement, and it is recommended to correct as soon as possible only when there are jaw abnormalities, jaw deviation or severe oral bad habits.
Attending physician Liu Zulin: Don't miss the golden period of growth How to tell if a child is short?
Many people mistakenly think that the growth and development of the child only needs to be paid more attention after birth, but in fact, when the mother is pregnant, the growth of the fetus will also affect the future height. Therefore, doctors will make a stage of children's normal growth and development, including fetal period, neonatal period, infancy, early childhood, preschool age, school age and adolescence, each period will have corresponding growth characteristics, and the factors affecting height are also different.
At the event site, parents were very concerned about whether the height of the child reached the standard of short stature, and the attending physician Liu Zulin suggested that it could be judged from the following aspects:
1. The child is always half a head shorter than the children in the same class
2. Among the 100 children, they are ranked to the bottom 3 in order of height and shortness
3. The growth rate is slow, the growth is less than 7cm/year under 3 years old, less than 5cm/year before 3 years old to puberty, and less than 5-6cm/year during puberty
4. You don't need to buy new clothes for more than 2 years
There will be two peaks in the normal growth pattern, one is within 2 years old, which is mainly affected by nutrition, and within 1 year of age has almost nothing to do with genetics, sufficient and balanced nutrition can ensure the rapid growth of children. The second peak period is puberty, when girls can grow 8 cm per year within 1 year of breast development; For boys, before the voice change, 9 to 10 cm per year, this process lasts for 2 years.
Chief Physician Peng Yan: Spinal curvature is mostly asymptomatic and regular physical examinations are necessary
It is often heard that some parents reprimand their children: standing without standing, sitting without sitting, in fact, have you ever thought that this may be the "trouble" of scoliosis. Scoliosis is quite common among primary and secondary school students in mainland China, and it is the third most common disease that endangers the health of children and adolescents after obesity and myopia. Scoliosis, also known as scoliosis, refers to structural changes in lateral flexion and rotation of the spine.
If the early stage of scoliosis is mostly asymptomatic, if it is not controlled in time, when the child is in the period of rapid bone growth, it may lead to the rapid progression of deformity, and in severe cases, it will not only affect the image, but also deform the body, causing problems such as growth and development, cardiopulmonary function and mental health, and can cause paralysis in severe cases. Chief Physician Peng Yan reminded that when parents find that their children are beginning to develop, they should pay attention to the spine of their children, and they need to regularly observe the physical changes of their children, which can usually be prevented from the following aspects:
One. Parents should observe the child's body shape at home to see if there are any of the following conditions
1. The spine is curved
2. The shoulders are not equal in height, which is often referred to as high and low shoulders. In addition, the protrusions on both sides of the shoulder blades are in different condition
3. There will be inconsistencies in the chest height on both sides of the patient
4. The pelvis is asymmetrical, the head and pelvis are not on the same perpendicular line, and the torso is biased to one side
5. The trunk is bent forward, and the back is observed for obvious spinal distortion, chest or lumbar bulge
Two. If you find a problem, seek help from a medical professional
Generally, a comprehensive assessment is carried out through a professional doctor's physical examination and imaging examination to understand the severity and risk of progression of curves, and regular observation can be made for mild cases, and for those above 25°, the growth potential is relatively large, and a customized brace may be required. Adolescents with immature bones above 30° need to wear a brace to prevent progression above 45° and have to undergo surgery.
If parents can detect the curvature of their child's spine in time, they can better delay or stop the progression of the deformity, and improve the quality of life by correcting the deformity to obtain a balanced spine.
Malocclusion, spinal curvature and short stature have always been health problems that plague adolescent development, and if these problems are not treated in time, they will affect the child's life. As a parent, you should be more aware of this aspect, and go to the hospital regularly for examination and evaluation by doctors, which will help to detect the condition early and help improve the effect of treatment and prognosis.
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