Phase One Orthodontic Treatment
At Adirondack Orthodontics, we believe nothing is more precious than your child’s smile. In order to set them on a path for lifelong dental health, early orthodontic treatment is critical. Bringing your child to an orthodontist in the early years – before age 7 – will help your orthodontist identify and address any issues with the teeth and jaw, ensuring your child is able to speak clearly, chew and swallow normally, and have a smile they love.
For most children, we recommend a two-phase orthodontic treatment plan to address serious issues and tackle problems as they arise. While not necessary for everyone, phase one treatment can eliminate the need for more complicated orthodontic solutions, and set your child up for long-term success.
The Goal of Phase One Treatment
In phase one treatment, we address early deficiencies in a child’s smile before they become more significant issues. Traditionally, treatment used to wait until all of the baby teeth fell out. Now, providing early treatment through a multi-phased approach helps simplify the orthodontic process, prevent unnecessary extractions, and reduce the risk of extreme measures in the future.
It is recommended that your child see a board-certified orthodontist by the time they turn 7 years old. We offer free consultations to assess your child’s development and determine if phase one orthodontic treatment might be right for them. And this is important: no referrals are needed; children can be seen and observed for years before needing treatment.
How to Know if Phase One Treatment is Necessary
Hearing that your child may need orthodontic treatment at such a young age can come as a shock, but it is completely normal with current treatment methods. Orthodontists typically recommend phase one treatment in order to fix existing issues and prevent future ones.
Children who show clear signs of misalignment or have habits that affect dental development, such as thumb sucking, are typically candidates for phase one treatment. We offer a full assessment of your child’s situation in order to provide a comprehensive treatment recommendation.
Phase One Consultation
During the initial consultation, we’ll assess and identify any functional problems with your child’s teeth and jaws, such as an overbite, underbite, open bite, crossbite, crowding, excessive wear, or protrusion. Even if your child does not have apparent issues, it is worth taking the time to have a consultation completed to assess the health of their bite and alignment to identify areas to keep an eye on as they get older. Consultations are completely free and carry no obligation. We can offer our honest assessment and help provide the peace of mind that your child’s smile will be set up for the future.
Phase one of the treatment plan can take anywhere from 10 to 14 months, as we address dental issues with solutions that may include an expander, braces, tooth removal, Invisalign, or a space maintainer. We will also watch for missing teeth and abnormal tooth eruptions. Every child’s treatment plan is different; we take the time to explain in detail what your child needs so you understand exactly what will happen.
Once phase one treatment is complete, we can determine if your child should move on to additional treatment. We will be sure to guide them, and you, on the next steps to help them achieve a beautiful, healthy smile that lasts a lifetime.
Through it all, you can always count on our commitment to providing a safe, effective, affordable and pleasant experience for every patient.