The Importance of Early Evaluation
Many parents do not think much about their young children’s orthodontics health. Although most parents schedule regular appointments with the dentist from an early age, the vast majority of parents wait until their children are in their early teens before bringing them into the orthodontist’s office for a checkup to determine whether braces or Invisalign may be necessary.
Here is the problem: by this time, dental and facial development is much further along, existing problems which means any existing and developing issues continue to get worse. Abnormal dental and skeletal development usually needs intervention and does not self-correct. Potential issues have already begun to set in. It can be much more difficult at this time to reverse the damage. Early intervention can prevent surgery to reconstruct a malformed jaw which without intervention gets worse.
Common wisdom may dictate that orthodontic health is mostly a concern for older patients, but the American Association of Orthodontics recommends that children undergo an orthodontic evaluation at least once by the time they turn 7. This visit allows an orthodontist to determine whether early intervention may be necessary long before facial development has halted. This early evaluation is especially important for patients with malocclusion, impacted teeth, or non-optimum dentition. In many cases, treatment can probably wait. But if not, catching an issue early can save hundreds of dollars, a lot of pain and numerous health issues down the road.
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