Early Treatment

What is Early Orthodontic Treatment?

Also called Phase or Stage One Treatment, this typically happens when a child is between 6 and 11 years old. At this point, treatments are focused on managing oral habits and minimizing the severity of dental and/or skeletal misalignments. The overall goal is creating an environment for the proper eruption of adult teeth and establishing normal muscle function.

While braces may be used, early interventions can also mean simple steps such as:

• Removing some baby teeth
• Placing appliances (ex. expander, a few brackets)
• Using removeable appliances (ex. headgear, bionators)

Benefits of Early Orthodontic Treatment

Early intervention has many benefits, including:

• Reduce the need for extractions of permanent teeth
• Eliminate harmful oral habits
• Harmonize jaw growth/facial outlines
• Improve overall self-image

What Problems Can Be Corrected with Early Treatment?

In our experience, over 95% of malocclusion-related problems can be addressed with early treatment. These include:

• Harmful oral habits
• Missing, extra, or ectopic teeth
• Crowding /spacing issues
• Protrusion and vertical deep bite
• Jaw size issues
• Cross bite/under bite
• Jaw joint issues

Patient compliance is often better at this age compared to the teen years when youngsters are under school and social pressures and may resist using headgear or other appliances. Improved compliance leads to improved treatment outcomes!

Treatment for Young Children at Saini Orthodontics

As with everything, early orthodontic treatment has its drawbacks, like extractions of baby teeth and increased cost and overall treatment time. The orthodontist must spend more time on these cases, which can be a challenge in high-volume practices.

At Saini Orthodontics, we have been strong proponents of early management since 1971. While we faced resistance from some of our peers, we knew the benefits were apparent in our office.

These days, early treatment has become the norm. In fact, the American Association of Orthodontists now recommends children have their first exam with an orthodontist at 7 years old!

FIND AN ORTHODONTIST IN COLUMBIA/HOWARD COUNTY, MD

With children, it’s easy to dismiss certain problems – particularly if baby teeth are going to come out eventually anyway. But neglecting early issues often means paying for more severe or complicated problems down the line.

The right orthodontist will not only help you get the right treatment for your child, they will also explain how their specific recommendations will help your child now and in the future.

If you want to work with a team who do everything in your child’s best interest, contact us today! We are happy to provide you with everything you need to make the best-informed decision regarding your child’s care.