Why Early Orthodontic Evaluation Is Essential

Most parents are aware that their children need to visit the dentist by the time they are one year old or around the time their first tooth erupts. However, many parents do not realize that there is another dental care milestone for children: an early orthodontic evaluation.  

What Is an Early Orthodontic Evaluation?

An early orthodontic evaluation is the first step in the process of providing a child with interceptive orthodontic treatment. During an early orthodontic evaluation, an orthodontist examines a child's erupted (and not yet erupted) permanent teeth, primary (baby) teeth, jawbone structure, and bite. This evaluation typically includes a physical examination in addition to diagnostic images, such as digital X-rays, that allow an orthodontist to better visualize bone structure and developing permanent teeth that have not yet erupted.

During an early orthodontic evaluation, your child’s orthodontist determines whether or not they will benefit from early treatment interventions designed to support healthy jaw development and growth while creating space in the mouth for permanent teeth, directing proper tooth positioning, correcting bite issues, and either eliminating or simplifying any need for future treatment.  

Orthodontic evaluations have three general results:  

• The orthodontist deems that your child is not expected to require interceptive orthodontic treatment.
• We suspect that your child might require later treatment. In these cases, we provide parents with a recommended schedule of follow-up evaluations.  
• We detect a current orthodontic problem that will benefit greatly from early treatment. In these cases, we discuss recommended treatment plans and expectations with parents.  

Early orthodontic evaluation and interceptive orthodontic treatment ultimately aims to prevent issues and address existing problems that could become worse over time without treatment. Interceptive orthodontics aims to intercept any developing problems, address the underlying cause of the issue, guide the growth and development of the child's jaw and facial bones, and create enough space to accommodate developing permanent teeth. Even with interceptive orthodontics, children might still require a second phase of treatment when all of their permanent teeth have erupted. This second phase, however, will be much simpler than treatment if the child were to undergo later treatment without interceptive orthodontics.  

We use interceptive orthodontics to reduce the total amount of total treatment in addition to the overall difficulty, complexity, and invasiveness of treatments that children will require throughout their lifetimes.  

When to Schedule Your Child's Orthodontic Evaluation

When it comes to mitigating orthodontic issues, as a child develops, timing is everything. So it's important that you have your child evaluated at the right time during their development. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children have an orthodontic evaluation anytime when an issue is first detected but no later than age seven.  

At age seven, children still have several primary teeth. However, they also have enough permanent teeth for an orthodontist to evaluate the developing teeth and jawbones.  

Common Issues Addressed as a Result of Early Orthodontic Evaluation

Some of the orthodontic problems most commonly addressed using interceptive orthodontics include:

• Malocclusion

• Underbites - When the bottom front teeth protrude in front of the top front teeth

• Overbites - When the upper front teeth protrude in front of the lower front teeth
• Crossbites - When the jawbone is shifted to one side
• Open Bites - When space is left between the upper and lower teeth when the jawbones are closed
• Abnormal Bite - When the upper and lower teeth meet abnormally

• Protruding front teeth (buck teeth)
• Missing or extra teeth
• Excessively spaced teeth
• Overly crowded teeth
• Jaw or teeth growth affected by pacifier, finger, or thumb-sucking

Interceptive Orthodontic Treatments

Every child is unique and will have a personalized interceptive treatment plan. Interceptive orthodontic treatments vary in complexity and duration. Some interceptive orthodontic treatment approaches include:

• Orthodontic appliances

• Palatal expanders
• Space maintainers
• Braces

• Primary (baby) teeth extractions

The course of treatments recommended for each child depends on the patient's unique needs, symptoms, and prognosis.

The Benefits: Why We Recommend Early Orthodontic Evaluation

Early orthodontic evaluation and interceptive orthodontic treatment offer several benefits to children including:

• Early evaluation reduces the complexity, invasiveness, difficulty, and length of future treatment.

• Interceptive orthodontic treatment promotes better oral hygiene.
• It improves oral health by reducing the risk of gum disease and tooth decay.
• It prevents excessive wear and tear on misaligned teeth.
• Interceptive orthodontics creates space for permanent teeth to reduce the need for later extractions.
• It reduces the risk of dental injuries
• An early orthodontic evaluation can also help you understand what to expect in your child's future regarding their orthodontic treatment needs. As a result, an early evaluation will help eliminate surprises associated with future orthodontic treatment needs.

Schedule A Consultation with a Trusted Orthodontist in Richardson, TX

An orthodontic consultation with our team is free and informative. As Board Certified Orthodontists, we are trained to spot potential concerns with future jaw issues or emerging teeth. Your child’s bite may be fully healthy, she may need to monitor potential concerns, or she may need to intervene early to help lay the foundation for a healthy smile. Early treatment may prevent more serious problems from developing and may make treatment at a later age unnecessary or less complicated.

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