ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT FOR CHILDREN
What is Early Treatment or Phase 1?
Children orthodontic treatment is also known as interceptive orthodontics or Phase 1 treatment. Early intervention takes advantage of the fact that a child’s jaw is still growing. In case of crowding, your children orthodontist will use a palatal expander to expand the child’s dental arch. Once the arch is the proper size, there’s a better chance that the adult teeth will emerge in better position.
More orthodontic treatment, Phase 2, is usually needed later on, but it may be shorter and less involved. That treatment starts after all adult teeth have erupted. As a children orthodontist in Beverly Hills, Dr. Elfersi is uniquely qualified to evaluate and treat your child.
Recommended only in specific cases
Dr. Elfersi recommends children orthodontic treatment only when appropriate and based your child occlusion. Often, parents are surprised because Dr. Elfersi places their kid on recall. Children orthodontics is a lengthy and slow process. Dr. Elfersi will not start treatment unless necessary and beneficial for your child. Your kid may have an orthodontic condition that will be treated after all his adult teeth have erupted. Please contact Elfersi Orthodontics in Beverly Hills with any questions you have about children orthodontic treatment.
Why do early treatment?
- Guide jaw growth
- Reduce the need for extraction
- Lower the risk of trauma to protruded front teeth
- Correct harmful oral habits
- Move permanent teeth into a favorable position
- Improve the way lips meet
- Increase self-esteem
Signs the Bite’s Not Right
- Early or late loss of baby teeth
- Difficulty in chewing or biting
- Breathing through the mouth
- Thumb-sucking
- Crowded, misplaced or blocked-out teeth
- Jaws that are too far forward or back
- Biting the cheek or biting into the roof of the mouth
- Protruding teeth
- Upper and lower teeth that don’t meet, or meet in an abnormal way
- An unbalanced facial appearance
- Grinding or clenching of the teeth
