Early Interceptive Treatment (Phase 1)
When is the best time for early orthodontic treatment?
Timing is everything in orthodontic treatment. When it comes to children, it is important to get out ahead of potential orthodontic issues they could be facing. The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that the initial orthodontic evaluation should occur at the first sign of problems or no later than age 7. Treatment usually isn’t required at this age, but an examination allows our doctors to create a customized plan that will best serve your child’s orthodontic needs throughout their adolescence and teenage years.
What are the benefits of early orthodontic evaluation?
Children grow and develop rapidly throughout the early stages of their lives, and this doesn’t exclude the mouth and jaw. In a landscape as turbulent as a young child’s mouth, it is necessary to monitor changes over time and be able to identify and solve problems if present. Early evaluation allows our doctors to guide growth and development, which can set children up for a shorter and easier time in braces when they are ready.
Why is age 7 considered the optimal time for screening?
By the time most children are 7, the first adult molars start to erupt, which plays a huge role in establishing the back bite and the shape of the overall bite. While at this age, our doctors can evaluate how your child’s bite lines up, in terms of front-to-back and side-to-side relationships between their upper and lower teeth. This information is invaluable for our orthodontists to have in order to create a plan to one day give your child their best smile.
Invisalign First
Invisalign First Phase One Treatment occurs in growing children. It serves to control crowding of the teeth by expanding your child’s arches to make room for existing and future permanent teeth. This treatment can significantly ease the transition to braces or Invisalign later on once all of their permanent teeth have come in.
How does Invisalign First work?
Step 1
The first step is taken by creating a digital scan of your child’s mouth and jaw shape with an iTero machine. This is an easy and comfortable procedure, and gives our doctors a 3D model of your child’s mouth which allows for very precise and accurate steps to be taken to correct any issues if necessary.
Step 2
Once the scan is taken, a series of custom aligners is created to slowly move your child’s teeth and jaw into the desired position. This is a gradual process and is easy for your child, as they can remove the aligners to eat and brush. The goal is to move the jaw and teeth into positions that can easily allow for more growth and less crowding from future teeth.
