Wednesday, April 18, 2012

How does two-phase orthodontic treatment benefit my child?

The benefits of early treatment are the creation of an environment that promotes unimpeded optimal eruption of the permanent dentition and more balanced chewing/biting and facial growth. This will consequently provide better chewing function, more pleasant dental and facial esthetics and make any needed further correction in a second phase of care more comfortable and timely.

The following is a list of potential benefits of Phase I early orthodontic treatment:
- Reduce of the need to extract permanent teeth through improvement of the width of the dental arches and preserving or gaining space for erupting permanent teeth
- Influence jaw growth in a positive manner thus reducing or eliminating the need for jaw surgery;
- Lower the risk of trauma to protruded front teeth;
- Correct harmful oral habits improve esthetics and self-esteem;
- Simplify and shorten treatment time for definitive orthodontic treatment (phase II);
- Increase stability of final treatment results;
- Reduce likelihood of impacted permanent teeth;
- Improve speech development;
- Guide permanent teeth into more favorable positions; and
- Improve compliance before the busy teenage years.