At Pitner and Carroll Orthodontics, we recommend that all children be evaluated at age 7, but this does not mean your child will need braces in second grade or even in the future. And you don’t need a referral by a dentist to take advantage of this free evaluation.
An early evaluation provides huge benefits to both you and your child. At your child’s initial evaluation, we will take photos and a panoramic x-ray. With this information, we will be able to see if your child has missing teeth, teeth not erupting properly, too little or too much space for the permanent teeth, or problems with the way the teeth fit together. For the vast majority of children, no treatment is indicated at this age and we will let you know if it is likely that treatment will be needed in the future. Then your child will be seen briefly every six months to monitor the eruption and development of his/her teeth. With this process, which is offered at no charge to you, we can watch for the ideal time for your child to begin treatment so that he/she can have the best, most efficient results.
Two important problems of jaw development can only be corrected before age 10. The most significant is an underbite — the lower teeth hit in front of the upper teeth. This problem is best addressed while the upper jaw is still growing, which is only until age 10. Another similar problem is a narrow upper jaw where the back top teeth are inside of the bottom teeth (crossbite). Like the underbite, a crossbite is easiest to correct while the upper jaw is still growing.
Worried about losing an aligner? Lost aligners happen much less often than people think, but if it does, we will replace it quickly and at no cost.
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