Your Ottawa Invisalign® Provider
At Manor Park Dental, our Ottawa we offer orthodontic services for children as young as 8. We welcome children to come in for early consultations to discuss treatment options.
Children's Orthodontic Treatment
Orthodontic treatment for children is also referred to as 'Phase I treatment' or 'early intervention'.
Depending on the type of orthodontic issue, the child's stage of development and a host of other factors, treatment can begin as early as age 7.
At this stage of development, certain orthodontic issues may be easier to address, as your child's teeth and jaw are still growing.
Consultations with Manor Park Dental can help identify orthodontic issues in children. A customized treatment plan can then be mapped out.
How can my child benefit from early orthodontic treatment?
By treating orthodontic issues while your child is young, we can guide their facial development earlier and reduce risks such as crowding of teeth. The necessary treatment time with braces may also be reduced.
The Case for Early Intervention
At Manor Park Dental, we offer early intervention and less invasive treatments for children designed to prevent serious orthodontic issues later in their development.
- Why should early treatment be a priority?
When your child is young, their skeletal structure is malleable and adjusting as the child grows and develops. This makes it possible to change the course of their jaw development, which can sometimes help prevent the need for surgery later in life.
Helping children correct bad habits or oral health issues is also easier when they are young. A few of the causes of orthodontic problems that develop later in life, such as mouth breathing, thumb-sucking and dental decay, can be treated early to prevent problems from worsening.
Another factor to consider is that younger children between the ages of 8 and 11 are often much more cooperative than children of 12 to 14. With Phase I Treatment, they may also need to wear fixed braces on their adult teeth for less time than if they had waited.
- How can less invasive treatments help?
By addressing teeth crowding early in a child's development, we can often help eliminate the need for measures such as tooth extractions later in your child's development. These extractions typically occur in the late teens or early twenties and can sometimes lead to further dental issues.
- What's involved in an early treatment plan?
Phase I Treatment: This phase may last up to 9 months. During this time, your child will wear retainers or removable braces (functional appliances) until their permanent adult teeth come in later in their life.
These appliances can reposition the lower jaw forward, change the child’s profile and correct the bite problem.
Treatment takes place while your child still has baby teeth present. After the permanent teeth have come in, we can determine if Phase II Treatment is needed.
Phase II Treatment: Orthodontics is usually the second phase of treatment, following the use of functional appliances. Most children require a second phase of treatment, but Phase II treatment is considerably shorter and less invasive if your child benefits from early Phase I treatment.
To help make the wearing of braces more fun, patients have a choice of at least 40 different coloured elastics.
This phase of treatment usually last between 12-24 months depending of the amount of tooth movement necessary to align the teeth and to establish a proper bite.
It is important to remember that treatment time is estimated. Specific treatment goals are established and treatment will usually continue until these goals have been achieved.
