Today our orthodontists at Burnaby Heights Orthodontics in Burnaby discuss when you can bring your child in for their first orthodontic appointment and when they can start their treatment.
All children have beautiful smiles and each one is unique - especially your child's! You are probably curious when the best time is to bring your child in for orthodontic treatment to get the best possible outcomes.
The answer to this question will vary based on the severity of your child's bite or jaw misalignment. In the past, orthodontists would usually delay orthodontic treatment until a child is in their teenage years (typically between the ages of 12 and 14 ). This was done to give their teeth time to grow in. But, this method often results in permanent teeth having to be extracted to provide teeth with space to move
Today, our team takes a different approach to orthodontic treatment. With interceptive orthodontics, we can start providing treatment for children as young as 7 to 11 years old. The benefits of treating orthodontic conditions early are that we are able to correct problems before they fully develop and can retain more of the adult teeth that would need to be extracted later.
Interceptive orthodontics allows us to utilize orthodontic appliances (not always braces) while your child still has their baby teeth. Once your child's adult teeth erupt, they can start the second phase of orthodontic treatment. Usually, this is when they will require braces.
Our orthodontists at Burnaby Heights Orthodontics have the ability to evaluate your child's teeth and oral health to determine if they are candidates for orthodontic treatment. If we can address your child's alignment issues with orthodontic intervention, our team will discuss how treatment can have a positive effect on your child's smile. We will also explain to you all of the treatment options we have available to develop a customized treatment plan.