The American Association of Orthodontists recommends an initial evaluation by age 7. While your child’s teeth may appear straight to you, by the second grade enough jaw development has occurred that we can detect and correct many problems. Although very few permanent teeth have erupted this is the ideal time to make changes in the jaw growth to minimize future problems.
The need for early detection is that problems can be corrected in a growing child to help prevent more serious problems from developing. Many parents mistakenly assume that they must wait until a child has all of his or her permanent teeth, only to find out that treatment should have been started much earlier. In some cases this delay will make it so that extractions or jaw surgery will be required.
Of course, this evaluation may reveal that your child’s bite is fine, the jaws line up properly and they have enough room for all the permanent teeth to erupt. This is comforting news for you. We can continue to check your child periodically to monitor the eruption of their permanent teeth and jaw growth. We are so committed to making sure that no problem goes undiagnosed we do not charge for these visits. Our goal is to provide each patient with the most appropriate treatment at the most appropriate time in order to achieve the best results.
It’s not always easy for parents to tell if their child has an orthodontic problem. Here are some signs or habits that may indicate the need for 
an orthodontic examination:
1) Early or late loss of baby teeth
2) Difficulty chewing or biting
3) Crowding, misplaced or blocked out teeth
4) Teeth bite into the cheek or roof of the mouth
5) Teeth that do not meet at all (open bite)
6) Jaws and teeth that are out of proportion to each other or the rest of the face
7) Finger sucking or pacifier habits continued beyond the age of five
8) Upper front teeth stick out, protrude or are "bucked" 9) Upper front teeth grow in behind the bottom front teeth (underbite)
10) Upper front teeth cover more than 50% of the bottom front teeth when biting together
11) Weak chin or prominent chin
12) Adjoining teeth shifting into positions when a tooth between them has been removed
13) Teeth wearing unevenly, don’t meet in a normal matter, or don’t meet at all
14) Jaws that shift off center when the teeth bite together
15) Excessive spaces between teeth
16) Mouth breathing
Note: These are only some of the more obvious signs. Other signs may be much more subtle and require a trained professional to detect.
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Removable expansion appliance
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Interceptive treatment at this age with the use of orthodontic appliances gives us the ability to correct some of the following:
- Guide the growth of the young jaw bones to create a better environment for the new emerging permanent teeth
- Guide incoming teeth into optimal positions
- Regulate the width of the jaws
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Fixed upper quad helix
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- Lower the risk of trauma to prominent front teeth
- Correct harmful oral habits
- Reduce the likelihood of teeth becoming stuck or impacted under the gums due to overcrowding
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Fixed lower lingual arch
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- Preserve or gain space for permanent teeth
- Improve appearance and self-esteem
- Prevent more serious problems from developing and may make treatment at a
later age shorter and less complicated
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Twin block appliance
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- Stimulates growth, bringing the lower jaw into the correct relationship to the upper jaw, and helps reduce the overbite
- We can simultaneously use expansion screws to widen the jaw to create more room for the permanent teeth and improve their alignment