Sunday, February 10, 2013

Early Orthodontic Treatment




Q.  All the young children in the neighborhood already are wearing “braces” and “retainers”, why should my child wait until he is older?

A.  Although there are some orthodontic problems that should be corrected early (interceptive treatment) this in no guarantee that future treatment will not be necessary when all of the permanent teeth erupt at around age 12.  Sometimes early treatment just costs more and takes longer.  Recent studies have shown that for many patients, the final result of two phase treatment is no better than waiting and doing a straightforward one phase treatment.  This is not to say that parents should wait until all the baby teeth fall out before bringing in their child for a consultation.  Often there are some timely and simple things we may recommend, and it is always better to be a little early than to miss the appropriate time to treat.
Bottom line: We like to think that, at Century Orthodontics, we are right where we should be.  Doing things when and if they are needed…no more, no less!


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