The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that a child first be seen by an orthodontist as early as age 7 or earlier should a parent or the family dentist discover a problem. The timing of orthodontic treatment is extremely important and greatly affects the treatment result. Since no two patients are alike, there is no absolute, specific age that is best to begin treatment.

Many progressive treatments are now available for patients six to eleven years old that provide significant benefits, especially in jaw irregularities. These treatments may also prevent certain conditions from worsening. Treating children during their growth stages enables Dr. Irigoyen to achieve results that may not be possible when the face and jaw bones have fully developed. This early treatment can simplify or eliminate additional treatment.

Early diagnosis and treatment by an orthodontic specialist can help guide facial growth and tooth eruption, thus preventing more serious problems from developing. Our goal is to reduce treatment time in full braces and to provide the best and most stable results possible.

 

• Influence growth of the jaws in a positive manner
• Improve the width of the dental arches
• Reduce the need to extract permanent teeth
• Reduce or eliminate the need for jaw surgery
• Lower the risk of trauma to protruded front teeth
• Correct harmful oral habits
• Simplify and shorten treatment time
• Increase the stability of final treatment results
• Reduce the likelihood of impacted permanent teeth
• Improve speech development
• Improve the position of the first permanent molars
• Guide permanent teeth into more favorable positions
• Improve lip closure
• Preserve or gain space for erupting teeth
• Reduce the potential for damage to the Temporal Mandibular Joint
• Better cooperation before the teenage years