What's your approach to my child's in-between smile, some baby teeth and some new ones?

What actually happens at a regular visit during this stage

A comprehensive exam, a professional cleaning, and a growth check happen at every routine visit, and that growth check is where a mixed mouth gets its attention. Your pediatric dentist looks at which permanent teeth have arrived, how they are lining up next to the baby teeth still doing their job, and whether anything about the pattern is worth a closer look. Digital X-rays are taken only as needed, not as an automatic step, when a clearer picture below the surface would actually help.

None of this requires you to track anything yourself between visits. The same six-month rhythm that already has your child in the chair is what catches most of what this stage needs caught.

It depends on how your child's own growth is heading

Most children move through the mixed dentition years with nothing more than that ongoing watching, and it resolves into a more settled smile on its own. For some children, growth calls for an earlier look, and we sometimes offer orthodontic evaluations as young as 7 or 8 rather than waiting. The American Association of Orthodontists suggests a first evaluation around age 7 as a general guideline, well before any treatment would actually begin.

An early evaluation is a look and a plan, not a start date for braces. When comprehensive orthodontic care does make sense at this stage, Dr. Whitesides provides it at the Fort Myers office, and traditional braces still wait until baby teeth are shed. Your pediatric dentist will tell you plainly which situation applies to your own child rather than treating every mixed smile the same way.

When it is worth a call before the next scheduled visit

Gradual, watched-over-time change is the normal pattern for this stage, so most of it can simply wait for the next routine visit. Call sooner if a bite changes suddenly rather than gradually, if a fall or other injury affects a tooth that is coming in or already loose, or if a permanent tooth looks stuck or badly angled rather than working its way in as expected: (239) 482-2722.

If you are simply not sure whether something is worth mentioning

Mention it anyway. Bringing up a gap, a crowded-looking spot, or teeth that seem to be coming in oddly at the next visit costs nothing and lets your pediatric dentist look at it directly instead of you guessing from across the dinner table. Keeping the routine visit rhythm going is most of what this approach actually asks of you. More on this stage overall lives on our elementary page, and more on early evaluations lives on our orthodontics page.