One of the most common questions I get as an Orthodontist is, “is my child old enough to get braces/Invisalign? It’s also a very important question to ask, because there are certain aspects of treatment that an Orthodontist can treat too young or be too old to ideally treat. In today’s blog, I will break down the ideal time for Braces or Invisalign treatment.
As soon as a child turns 7 years old, the American Association of Orthodontists recommends a child to be evaluated by an Orthodontist. At this age, an Orthodontist will check to see if the bite is growing ideally. To make sure there is no underbite, overbite, or posterior crossbites. If there is a posterior crossbite, an Orthodontist will use an expander to treat it, if there is an underbite, an Orthodontist may use a facemask to treat it, and if there is an overbite, an Orthodontist may treat it with elastics and braces, or also an expander. These appliances can generally be used starting at 7 all the way through growth completion.
At age 7 and up an Orthodontist will also check to make sure all the adult teeth have room to grow in. If they do not, then an expander and braces may be used as well to help treat the crowding. If this crowding goes untreated, then it may lead to getting permanent teeth extracted later on in life. A side effect of severe crowding at this young age, may lead to impacted canines. An impacted canine is a canine that is growing into the adjacent tooth (the lateral incisor), instead of growing straight down into its position. This may lead to the impacted canine destroying the root of the lateral incisor, causing it to become mobile and eventually needing to be extracted. Seeing an Orthodontist at the right age will allow the Orthodontist to treat the impacted canine before permanent damage is done.
For patients with overbites in the vertical dimension, an Orthodontist can use an anterior bite plate appliance to help treat the overbite. The anterior bite plate appliance, will open up the posterior (back teeth), and allow them to grow towards each other, treating the anterior overbite. This appliance can be used starting at 7 years old, and ideally all the way through until growth is completed.
For patients with overbites in the horizontal direction (overjet) treatment is ideally completed during growth. This phase is different for kids, but usually falls between 10-13. For big overbites in the horizontal direction, we can use what’s called a class II corrector for severe overjets, or simple rubber bands for more mild to moderate overjets.
For crooked, spaced out teeth, treatment can be done at any age after 7, however, it is more ideal to straighten teeth during the growth phase. Getting braces or Invisalign during the growing years of 10-14 makes for more comfortable treatment, with less side effects than when getting braces or Invisalign past that age.
As you can see, Orthodontic treatment is very age sensitive. Make sure you take your child for a complimentary consultation starting at age 7 to see if your child is a good candidate/ready for Braces or Invisalign.
