The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children have an orthodontic evaluation between ages seven and nine. The reason is that most children have their first permanent molars by this age, and the way these teeth have emerged reveals future growth patterns.
Don’t be concerned that this automatically means your child will need braces. An evaluation aims to determine if they can benefit from early orthodontic treatment called interceptive orthodontics.
What Is Interceptive Orthodontics?
Interceptive orthodontics is a treatment phase that allows the orthodontist to influence a child’s jaw development in ways that aren’t possible once the jaws finish growing.
- Guide jaw growth
- Guide permanent teeth
- Correct harmful oral habits
- Minimize the risk of damage to protruding teeth
Some interceptive orthodontic appliances commonly recommended are space maintainers, retainers, and palatal expanders. Your orthodontist may also recommend removing some baby teeth to make space in the jaw for incoming permanent teeth.
Benefits of Early Orthodontic Treatment
In many cases, early orthodontic treatment minimizes orthodontic treatment times in the future or eliminate the need for treatment altogether. When early orthodontic treatment is timed perfectly, your orthodontist can achieve the best results with the least amount of effort and expense.
Myobrace® Pre-Orthodontic Treatment
Another leading-edge approach to minimize or eliminate the need for orthodontic treatment is Myobrace. This preventive pre-orthodontic treatment retrains muscles that may be the underlying cause of crooked teeth.
Myobrace treatment in Aurora, CO takes advantage of a child’s natural growth phase to correct oral habits like thumb-sucking, mouth breathing, prolonged pacifier use or tongue thrusting that lead to incorrect jaw development.
Schedule Your Child’s Orthodontic Evaluation with Us
At Baller Dental & Ortho at Southlands, Dr. Holly Baller offers traditional braces for children and adults of all ages. She has extensive experience in all phases of orthodontic treatment at our Aurora, CO dental office. If your child is between seven and nine years old, please call us to schedule an orthodontic evaluation.
Of course, if you have any concerns before your child reaches age seven, we welcome you to contact us so we can meet with your child to determine their needs.