The American Association of Orthodontics recommends that your child see an orthodontist at age 7. Your child will start to lose their baby teeth at around age 6 and the last baby tooth is normally lost at around age
Many times, younger patients will come into our office and will not be ready to begin treatment as their teeth need to grow and develop more. Most of our patients start treatment around age 12 for girls and age 13 for boys.
We only recommend begin orthodontic treatment when the timing is right, or at the behest of the parent. This conservative approach means we are honest on when you actually need treatment so there is no pressure to put braces on immediately. We advocate to let the natural growing process run its course first, so if your child is not ready for braces they can be observed in our Observation program. This free program allows you to come to our office to be routinely checked to determine the best plan and time of treatment!
Observing your child until they are ready is very important as we monitor the exfoliation and eruption of teeth to prevent impacted teeth and to see if your child needs Phase 1 (Early Intervention Treatment). A small percentage of children need Phase 1 treatment, when it is needed, it is generally because the correction cannot occur later due to a specific growth time frame and to prevent possible damage of teeth and/or the gums and jaw structure.
We explain each and every step, what we want to see, and how we get there when needed. Your child will get to spin our prize wheel every time they come in as well!
We typically have to update an x-ray every few years, a courtesy we provide free of charge!
