Give Your Child A Lifetime Of Smiles
Bringing your child in to Hometown Orthodontics for orthodontic examinations and care at a young age is the best way to ensure them a lifetime of healthy teeth and aligned smiles.
Benefits of Early Evaluation
Your child needs teeth and jaws that are properly aligned to have a smile that's long-lasting and healthy – in other words, a good bite. While there is no exact age that children begin orthodontic treatment, the American Association of Orthodontists recommends that your child should visit the orthodontist around age seven.
By seven, your child's teeth have developed enough for subtle problems with jaw growth and emerging teeth to be assessed, without settling too firmly into place.
This check-up may reveal that your child's bite is fine and braces aren't necessary. In some cases, Dr. Powell may identify a developing problem, but recommend monitoring your child's growth and development. Then, when indicated, begin treatment at the appropriate time for your child.
In other cases, Dr. Powell might find a problem that can benefit from early treatment.
What Is Early Treatment?
Early treatment may prevent or intercept more serious problems from developing and may make treatment at a later age shorter, simpler, and less expensive.
In some cases, Dr. Powell will be able to achieve results that would be much more difficult to achieve if the face and jaws finish growing.
Putting off treatment can result in a need for more invasive treatment later in life that may not completely fix your smile. Early treatment is most effective for achieving lasting results.
Choosing the Best Time for Treatment
The goal of phase one treatment is to help the jaw develop in a way that will accommodate all of the permanent teeth and to improve the way the upper and lower jaws fit together. Children often exhibit early signs of jaw problems as they grow and develop.
An upper jaw that is growing too much or is too narrow can be recognized at an early age. If children, over the age of six, are found to have this jaw discrepancy, they are candidates for early orthodontic treatment.
Also, if children around the age of eight have crowded front teeth, early treatment can avoid the need to extract permanent teeth later.
If Dr. Powell thinks your child will need treatment, she’ll let you know when it will be best to begin treatment. This gives your orthodontist the best chance to:
- Correct and guide the growth of your child's jaw to help the permanent teeth come in straight
- Regulate the width of the upper and lower arches
- Create more space for crowded teeth
- Avoid the need for permanent tooth extractions later in life
- Correct thumb sucking and help improve minor speech problems
Planning Now Can Save Your Smile Later
Children benefit tremendously from early phase treatment at Hometown Orthodontics. Receiving early treatment may prevent the removal of permanent teeth later in life, or the need for surgical procedures to realign the jaws.
Taking Records to Determine Your Unique Treatment
We’ll need to take some orthodontic X-rays and photographs to help Dr. Powell determine the type of appliances to be used, the duration of treatment time, and the frequency of visits.
During your child's initial consultation, your friendly Hometown Orthodontics team will take these records to determine if early treatment is necessary for your child.
Learn More at Your Free Consultation
Please contact our office in Searcy at (501) 268-2000 to schedule an appointment for an orthodontic evaluation.
Early treatment at Hometown Orthodontics now will give your child a healthy, beautiful smile for the future.