Two Phase Treatment
Interceptive Treatments
Our doctors specialize in two phase treatment and have developed a highly successful treatment program. When a child is seen at age 7, many wonderful things can be accomplished! Extraction of adult teeth can be avoided in the vast majority of cases. This allows us to achieve excellent lip support by the teeth, avoiding a flattened or “dished” profile and thinning of the lips. Also, overbites can be corrected by utilizing growth potential, allowing us to avoid surgical procedures that are commonly needed in non-growing patients to correct the bite.
We believe prevention is better than cure and encourage parents to bring their child in for an early evaluation at age 7 as recommended by The American Association of Orthodontists.
Planning now can save your smile later
Because growth takes place slowly, it can be utilized to encourage the positive growth of the jaws.
When children are growing we have a unique opportunity to direct their growth in positive directions. For example, if the jaws are too narrow we can gently increase their widths to create more room for the developing teeth. In addition, if there’s an underbite resulting from a small upper jaw or an overbite caused by a small lower jaw, we can redirect the natural growth to create a more balanced bite.
However, if left untreated until all the adult teeth come in the jaw discrepancies or crowding may be too severe to correct with braces alone.
Our Treatments Can Correct
- Narrow dental arches, allowing for development of a wider, more aesthetically pleasing smile and improved nasal breathing
- Elimination of dark corridors that appear at the corners of the mouth when smiling
- Severe overbites or underbites
- Deep bites and collapsed bites
- Retruded (small) lower jaws or weak chins
- Excessive crowding and crooked teeth
- Gummy smiles
- Excessively protruding or flared teeth (buck teeth)
- Airway problems/Snoring
- Cross bites, or scissor bites (which should be corrected as early as possible)
- “Pouting” lower lip
- Elimination of the need for headgear
- Usually avoid the need for extractions of adult teeth or jaw surgery
