Straightening Smiles by your Orthodontist in San Dimas, California

WE ARE HAPPY TO CELEBRATE National Children’s Dental Health for all 28 days of February. This month the American Dental Association observes the importance of oral health in children. As your orthodontist in San Dimas, we take this time to help educate parents with tips to ensure your child’s smile is in tiptop shape! 

At Abari Orthodontics, we would like to share some information about the importance of early orthodontic treatment for your children. Read further to understand the differences between phase I and phase II orthodontic treatment.

What are Two-Phase Orthodontics?

When your orthodontist in San Dimas recommends two stages of treatment, we call the stages Phase 1 and Phase II. Depending on your child’s teeth or bite severity, your doctor may recommend addressing problems in two separate phases. The reason is to prevent needing invasive treatment later on in life. On the other hand, there are also cases where only one phase of orthodontic treatment is required. Each child is unique, and it is very common for kids of the same age to have completely different treatment plans. 

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children see an orthodontist by age seven. An orthodontist can begin treating children as young as four for dental development and other problems such as an underbite or overbite.

Phase I Orthodontics

Phase I treatment can correct issues during the child’s growth, preventing more invasive treatment later. After the age of eight, the jaw development in young children starts to fuse. For this reason, we recommend your child have an examination at an early age. 

Phase 1 orthodontics is for a patient with more baby teeth than adult teeth because the patient is still growing and developing. Treatment may involve specialized orthodontic devices such as a palatal expander or require partial braces on only a few adult teeth present in the mouth. 

For example, for a young child with an underbite, it is often best to intervene at the earliest stage rather than wait until all the permanent teeth erupt. Successful Phase I orthodontic treatment may prevent a patient with an underbite from needing to undergo oral surgery to correct the teeth and jaw in the future. 

In addition, Phase I Orthodontics can help correct harmful habits such as thumb-sucking and tongue-thrusting, leading to protruding front teeth.

We all know very well that children can be critical of others who look or speak differently. Phase I Orthodontics can help make a positive difference to your child’s appearance and self-esteem by improving facial aesthetics and speech issues and increasing your child’s self-confidence.

Phase II Orthodontics

The simplest way to define Phase 2 orthodontics is treatment after Phase I. In the second part of treatment, all the remaining permanent teeth will be present and treated with traditional braces or Invisalign. The goal of Phase II is to build upon the earlier progress and obtain the optimal bite and straightest smile for the patient. 

Make an appointment with your orthodontist in San Dimas

At Abari Orthodontics in San Dimas, California, we are experts in correcting overbites, underbites, crowding, crooked teeth, overlapping teeth, or other oral issues leading to braces or other treatments. We encourage you to contact us for an appointment at our dental office. We are happy to speak more with you about whether one or two-phase orthodontic treatment is best for your child.