EARLY TREATMENT

When is the best time to have your child seen by an orthodontist? Usually by age seven, your child's permanent incisors and first molars are present. At this time, the orthodontist can evaluate the upper and lower jaw relationship, the occlusal relationship (bite) as well as present and future crowding.

In most cases where early orthodontic treatment is recommended, the objective is to correct one or more of the following problems.

• To correct jaw disproportions before aligning the teeth
• To prevent injury to protruded teeth (teeth that stick out)
• To manage insufficient archlength ( crowding )
• To eliminate damaging habits
• To improve speech development
• To reduce the need to extract permanent teeth

Usually early treatment is completed in about year. The goal in early treatment is to help correct certain problems before they become complex. In some cases, early treatment will eliminate the need for future orthodontic care.

At Dingus and Rivoli Orthodontics, we strive to make our orthodontic care efficient and comprehensive. Where possible, we make every effort to start treatment at an age, which will minimize the length of time that our patients are in treatment. We were all orthodontic patients once, and can appreciate our patients and their parents desire to have orthodontic care completed in a timely manner.