Your mind is probably buzzing with questions about your child: Will those spaces close? Are my son’s jaws fitting together right? At what age should she be loosing her baby teeth? In which order should they come out? What happens if he doesn’t get braces? Is my daughter’s mouth growing like it should be? Will she even need braces?

 

Each child comes with his or her own individual set of dental and facial issues that need to be watched over time. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that a child has their first orthodontic exam around the age of seven. Scheduling an appointment around this point in your child’s life is perfect because before that age it’s a little too early to fully evaluate what should be done. After the age of eight, it’s possible that we might miss a window of "orthodontic-troubleshooting opportunity."

 

At Neufeld Orthodontics, our doctors will evaluate your child’s facial pattern to look for proper balance, symmetry and growth. We’ll count the number of teeth, take appropriate x-rays, and make sure that you know where, when, and how to go about helping your child get all their teeth into a great smile with correct alignment.

 

Along the way we’ll advise your family how to minimize any problems that come while children grow into their face and jaws. Most importantly however, Dr. Neufeld wants to make sure every child feels comfortable getting check-ups before actual treatment is needed. We believe that getting good results, regardless of the type of treatment, starts with a good Doctor/Patient relationship.

 

 

Common Children’s Treatment Options:

 

Observation

No treatment. This is a very important treatment decision. A time to take a step back and observe a child’s facial and dental development every six months. This will help us decide the best option when/if treatment is needed after all the teeth have come in. Many kids will fall into this category as we wait it out to make sure things progress normally.

 

Phase I Braces

A few brackets on key teeth to make space for incoming adult teeth or to make minor movements for improvement. These movements help close up big spaces, fix cross-bites, or help prevent anything that could potentially harm the gums, teeth, or bite. This phase is essentially a basic braces quick-fix followed by a retainer. Because these beginning – Phase I – braces are typically followed by normal teenage/adult braces, we try to make this experience as fun and noninvasive as possible.

 

Expanders

Early treatment is a great time for us to expand the jaws to make room for teeth while getting the back teeth into proper alignment, this also leads to increased nasal airways and helps ensure growth patterns are correct . . . Don’t worry, during your consultation we’ll explain why, when, if, and how these are used.

 

 

What are the potential advantages of phase I treatment?

 

• Creating room for crowded, erupting teeth

• Creating facial symmetry through influencing jaw growth

• Reducing the risk of trauma to protruding front teeth

• Preserving space for unerupted teeth

• Reducing the need for tooth removal

• Reducing overall treatment time with braces

 

Contact us today for a complimentary initial consultation to see if your child could benefit from a first phase of treatment.