Early Treatment

Orthodontic treatment on children does not always begin when all the "baby teeth" are lost.  We want to see growing children at age 7-8 and begin watching the development of their dentition.  Most of the time, they will be placed on a recall with no treatment to monitor the loss of their teeth.  However, there are specific important conditions that should be treated at an early age in what is called interceptive treatment.

Some of the most important conditions to treat at an early age are crossbites of the front or back teeth, severe crowding, or an excessive protrusion of the upper front teeth.  We are not greatly concerned about cosmetics at this age, but are very concerned about quickly correcting functional problems if possible.  Severe crowding can be managed by selective extractions during the growing years to keep the problem from becoming difficult to treat later.

We will only recommend an early stage of treatment if it will be effective and efficient in reducing the overall treatment time or difficulty.  There are cases when the early treatment completely solves the problem, but most often a second phase of treatment is necessary when most or all of the permanent teeth are present.