Finishing Braces Before High School
 

All Children should be examined early in life to determine if orthodontics will be necessary in life. A well trained dentist in diagnosing malocclusions (bad bites) is essential. Dr. Jen Kin is trained to detect early signs of TMJ and malocclusions in children as early as three years old.

Early interceptive treatment may consist of an appliance worn to correct a simple cross bite of a front or back tooth. Most bad bites in children are from underdeveloped lower jaws. Crooked front teeth can “lock” lower jaws into a backward direction when the child closes his or her mouth. Nature wants mandibles or lower jaws to grow and develop by moving forward and downward. Crooked teeth in children will prevent this from happening.

Early recognition of these conditions will allow a dentist like Dr. Jen Kin to create a treatment plan that will call for first orthopedic development of the jaws and then orthodontic movement of the teeth. This will give the best smile development and will give a person a youthful appearance for their entire life.

Most children should have orthodontics started in the mixed dentition stage. This means that the child still has mostly primary or baby teeth, but also some permanent teeth. Typically, early interceptive orthodontics can be started at about nine and a half years old. Braces are placed only on the front centrals and lateral incisors on both arches or jaws. These teeth are then put in proper alignment and spaces closed on these teeth. Proper molar relationship is created with these same Utility Arch Wire braces. Now the framework has been set up for the rest of the permanent teeth to erupt correctly into the mouth.

Properly timed extractions or removal of the remaining primary teeth in a specific sequence is next accomplished over a period of about 12 months. Extraction of the teeth is necessary to allow correct and properly placed eruption of the permanent canine and bicuspid teeth. Once all of the permanent teeth are erupted in place, braces are placed on them and final alignment is done on all of the remaining teeth. The child will be finished with orthodontics before high school starts. This pleases both the child and the parents.

There are many disadvantages to starting orthodontics after waiting for all of the permanent teeth to erupt into the mouth. The underdeveloped lower jaw has been “locked” into the backward position for a longer period of time. Often at this point, the “underbite” is never fully corrected, which leaves the face affected with a small lower chin and a “weak” profile. The mouth at this point has very crooked and crowded teeth. Many times extraction of four bicuspids is necessary to make room for teeth straightening at this point. The extractions are usually not necessary if early orthodontics had been started.

In summary, early interceptive orthodontics results in greater opportunities to do jaw orthopedics prior to orthodontics. Gross malocclusions (bad bites) can be avoided or corrected earlier and often permanent teeth extractions are unnecessary. Finally, children wear some form of braces for a longer period of time if started earlier, but are finished or completed before Junior High is completed.