What Is the Best Age to Start Orthodontic Treatment?

Determine what's the best age to start orthodontic treatment so you know when to bring your kid for a consultation.

Yulee Orthodontic treatment is becoming increasingly popular among adults, with the number of orthodontic patients reaching more than a million per year (in the U.S. only). Adults are also responsible for teeth straightening on kids, meaning many parents are now taking their children to early orthodontic examinations.

As you may know, the best way to approach tooth decay and dental health issues is prevention, and the same occurs with orthodontics. When you start taking your kid to the orthodontist, a doctor can evaluate the need for future procedures, attacking problems before they can develop.

Yulee Pediatric orthodontists can often treat malocclusion problems such as overbites and underbites from an early age. How soon should your kid start seeing an orthodontist? As soon as they have teeth and as late as seven years of age.

However, seeing a pediatric orthodontist when your child’s eruption process begins does not mean they will be wearing braces at two years old, of course. But there are other orthodontic appliances your kid could benefit from as early as five or six years old.

Orthodontics has changed a lot over the years, becoming easier and more comfortable for patients to a level where even kids can go under teeth straightening without having a hard time.

What Is Interceptive Orthodontic Treatment?

As we said, prevention is key when it comes to taking care of your beautiful smile. Preventative orthodontic treatment, or early orthodontics, is exactly the wing in charge of overseeing the growth process of teeth and jaws.

Interceptive treatment sounds much more serious than early orthodontics, but they are the same.

Since early orthodontics focuses on the development of the bite, children and teenagers are ideal patients. And although it is recommendable to pay periodical visits to the orthodontist, not every case requires preventative treatment.

It is precisely visiting the dental office on time that will determine whether the patient needs or not interceptive treatment.

The early interception stage may include palate expanders, spacers, elastic bands, and custom retainers. At Onshore Orthodontics, we are prepared with several treatments to correct our patient’s smiles in the smoothest way possible.

What Is Two-Phase Treatment for Children?

Yulee Two-Phase orthodontic treatment is a practice where an orthodontist divides the patient’s needs into two stages. Phase I has the goal of working before all the permanent teeth are out (something specialists call mixed dentition). This phase usually starts at age 7.

Phase II, on the other hand, can start around eleven or twelve years of age when all the permanent teeth are fully grown; this is the time for traditional braces, clear aligners, night-time retainers, et cetera.

Undergoing Phase I treatment does not guarantee your child won’t need conventional braces in the future; this is something your kid’s orthodontist will mention on the treatment plan. But Phase I can avoid complex malocclusions and severe crowding.

With Invisalign treatment, Phase I gets the name of Invisalign First, which are special plastic aligners for kids.

What’s the Best Age for Braces?

The perfect or correct age to wear braces does not exist. However, dental experts indicate an approximate age to start orthodontic treatment. In the past, patients had to wait until their permanent teeth came out to wear teeth straighteners.

But current orthodontics allows performing teeth movement before all the baby teeth are necessarily gone. A pediatric orthodontist can spot spacing problems on the jaws that can lead to future crowded teeth. And that is the type of benefit your kid will receive from early intervention.

Phase I of the Two-Phase treatment will pave the way for smooth smile growth. Some children do not have enough space to grow the rest of their teeth, causing permanent crooked and/or crowded permanent teeth.

It is for an expert to diagnose whether the space will grow normally or if it needs functional appliances to create that space instead. In a significant number of cases, teeth straightening can wait until the first adolescent years.

Am I Too Old to Get Orthodontic Braces?

If you clicked on this article to find out if you can still wear braces at age 60, you’ll be glad to know the answer. It is never too late to start treatment. Teeth alignment is a matter of health, and orthodontic treatment can help protect your natural smile.

“Can I still get braces if I have a lot of fillings?” It’s a common question adult patients make to themselves. It’s hard to find personalized answers on the internet. Besides tooth decay poses risks on orthodontic treatment, it does not have to be an impediment.

Let an orthodontist evaluate your case since damaged teeth could break if you apply enough pressure onto them.

An orthodontist is the only one qualified to answer all these questions about whether your kid is too young to start treatment or you are too old to wear braces. But not any orthodontist. Take your precious smile to certified experts; after they examine your teeth, you will know for sure.

Yulee Invisalign Teen Treatment

Teen years are our most susceptible years when it comes to appearance and self-esteem, so we get it’s natural for teens to prefer clear aligners over traditional metal braces.

Invisible aligners follow the same principles as metal braces, leaving the main changes only to improve comfort.

Don’t know where to find a provider near your area? Find Invisalign in Yulee with us. Remember, Invisalign only works with certified doctors and in-office treatment because studies show it is the most effective modality.

We are innovative in technology but traditional in quality since it ensures the best results regardless of the changes the science brings. The goal is your dental health.

What Are the Benefits of Clear Aligners?

  • Invisalign patients get to take off their aligners to eat, which allows them to forget about food restrictions.
  • Invisalign trays are completely transparent, offering all the discretion you want.
  • Clear aligners correct malocclusions just as permanently as traditional braces.
  • Invisalign molds are easier to clean compared to conventional braces.

Although Invisalign treatment is suitable for aligning overbites, underbites, crooked teeth, crowded smiles, diastemas, and more, clear aligners cannot correct the same severe misalignment issues that braces can.

Usually, Invisalign treatment is recommended mainly by orthodontists to teens and adults who already have had some type of orthodontic intervention to smooth the path.

But if you have to wear braces but still want an invisible aligner, the best alternative would be to wear clear ceramic braces. Ceramic braces combine the best of both worlds for teeth alignment.

The Best Treatment With Invisalign Clear Aligners Yulee Residents Can Get

Dr. Woolfson is a specialist in both orthodontics and dentistry. She and Dr. Dubiner, who are board-certified orthodontists, will be the doctors taking care of your teeth at Onshore Orthodontics in Yulee, Florida.

Onshore Orthodontics is a dental home perfect for your family since we have experts on pediatric cases as well as adult orthodontic treatments. We will listen to you and lend you the alternatives at your best convenience.

No need to take your extractions or emergencies elsewhere because you find it all in the same place with us!

Any further questions on why are orthodontic evaluations important for children? Set an appointment with our team.