Advantages of treatment’s early start
- Bigger chance of avoiding extraction of permanent teeth
- Better control of skeletal problems since before adolescence the orthodontist can control and affect skeletal growth.
- Better tissues’ response to therapy.
- Greater rate of adaptation of young patients in the mechanisms and better cooperation.
- Practically easier treatment because of fewer obligations of students in primary school than those in high school.
- Younger children are not ashamed and generally do not have the inhibitions of older ones.
- When treatment starts early, in adolescence it has almost finished and adolescents have bigger confidence, due to the better appearance of their mouth and generally their face.
- Adult patients, to whom the skeleton has already been shaped, are frequently led to treatment with extractions of permanent teeth or in cases where there are skeletal problems they may need a surgery.
What does children’s Orthodontics include?
Children’s orthodontic treatment can be divided in three main categories:
Preventive orthodontic treatment
It is for children of 6-8 years and aims to try preventing the creation of some future orthodontic problem.
Repressive orthodontic treatment
It aims at repressing an orthodontic problem that has occurred and is at an early stage.
Restorative orthodontic treatment
It is the comprehensive orthodontic treatment after the creation and installation of an orthodontic problem.
At the age of 7- 8 years a more complete orthodontic control is required by a specialist orthodontist according to the recommendation of the American Federation of Orthodontics.
It is wrong the view that the child should have definitely changed all baby’s teeth. In several cases, orthodontics is indicated before the child has changed all baby’s teeth, as for example cases with big absence of space, with very ‘extended’ upper teeth, with a very narrow upper jaw, with skeletal problems etc.