Early Treatment

Think early orthodontic treatment for your child is over the top? Think again!

An early childhood assessment is good preventive orthodontic practice and is the best way to address any common or complex orthodontic concerns in children.

What is Early Treatment?

Early treatment also referred to as preventive orthodontics aims to guide your child’s oral development. The goal being to mitigate and rectify present orthodontic issues to prevent and reduce future concerns.

While some parents question the value of consulting with an orthodontist when their child is only seven or eight, our view and that of the Australian, American and British Orthodontic Association is clear:

Prevention is a much better alternative to long term expensive treatment, making that early visit well worth the effort.

Numerous factors contribute to the onset of orthodontic problems – genetics, trauma, thumb finger sucking, poor nutrition, poor oral hygiene, and dental disease. Seeing an orthodontist around the age of seven or eight is an excellent way of reducing or the need for more complex and costly treatment down the track.

When Should You Consider Early Treatment?

When it comes to early treatment, most parents and carers don’t realise the ideal age to bring a child in for their first orthodontic consultation is between seven and eight years of age.

Here are just a few very good reasons why:

  • It can guide permanent teeth into their proper position to avoid more complex orthodontic issues from developing
  • Early treatment is perfect for helping your child avoid self-esteem issues or being made fun of by peers
  • Your child’s natural jaw growth and development can be utilised to achieve the most ideal outcome
  • It can reduce second phase treatment complexity and time and therefore save you money
  • An early childhood assessment allows your child to become familiar with the Doctor, team and the clinic – all of which will benefit them later on

An  early childhood assessment is sound preventive orthodontics. Our aim is to monitor your dental development allowing you to feel confident that your orthodontic needs are in our hands, Eight is the perfect age to plan any early preventive treatments if needed. If not, we can enjoy getting to know you and your family as we monitor your development every six months for your FREE routine observation visit.

Time for an early childhood orthodontic assessment? Let’s book your child in.

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