Emphasis on Prevention

As your child grows, certain issues may become apparent during their regular examination at the dentist. These tooth problems may include, but are not limited to, crowding or too much space between teeth, overbite, underbite, extra teeth, missing teeth, jaw abnormalities, extracted teeth, and protruding teeth. Genetics, poor nutrition, trauma, thumb/finger sucking, poor oral hygiene, and dental disease can all add to early onset of orthodontic issues, and preventing the habits that cause these is the focus of our therapy.

What is Interceptive Orthodontics?

Interceptive orthodontics via myofunctional therapy is typically needed after maloclussion has occurred. It is often called Phase I treatment and can be used to correct problems resulting from oral habits, such as:

• Thumb sucking and pacifier habits
• A large or reshaped jawbone
• Misaligned teeth
• Narrow dental arches
• Extreme tongue thrust habits
• Protruding front teeth

Interceptive orthodontics may not prevent the need for braces, retainers, or other traditional orthodontic treatment in later years but it can minimize the second phase of treatment. Phase two typically begins when all of the permanent teeth have erupted (at around ages 12 to 14) and completion of Phase I will allow Phase II to be shorter in duration since there will be minimal corrections to be made. In this phase, skeletal development problems are corrected. Early orthodontic treatment may prevent serious problems from developing and may make treatment at a later stage shorter and less complicated.