Early orthodontic treatment at Beachside Orthodontics

The Australian Society of Orthodontists (ASO) recommends children visit an orthodontist between the ages six and eight.

At Beachside Orthodontics, we offer specialist early assessments for children to help kick start their journey to a lifetime of beautiful healthy teeth.

The importance of an early consultation

You may think six is too early to bring your child in to meet an orthodontist. After all, they still have their baby teeth. But this is the ideal age for our specialist orthodontists to look at your child’s teeth because we can look for any signs that may indicate future orthodontic problems.

An early consultation is a proactive approach to orthodontic treatment. At your child’s early assessment, we can address, plan for, and monitor any orthodontic issues. By identifying these issues early, we can reduce the extent of the problem and the amount of treatment they may need later. This also means saving you time and money. 

What to look for

There are ways that you can spot any potential orthodontic issues early. If your child has crowded or misaligned teeth, speech problems or suck their thumb past the age of five, these might provide an indication your child requires orthodontic treatment.

Starting treatment

Even if we have identified some potential orthodontic problems at your child’s early consultation, doesn’t mean we need to start treatment right away. If we can monitor the issue, we’ll be able to address it when the time is right.

In some instances, treatment may be required. This is often in the form of Phase One treatment or also known as interceptive treatment. 

Phase One treatment focuses on ensuring the jaw is correctly aligned or the mouth’s archway is wide enough to allow room for your child’s teeth to grow. During Phase One treatment we may use a twin block or a mandibular advancement functional appliance (MAF) to correct the jaw alignment. Invisalign First enables to start treatment while waiting for all the adult teeth, correcting alignment or expanding to allow the teeth to have room to erupt. Reducing the need for a more comprehensive treatment in Phase Two. 

Family friendly practice

We know the orthodontic clinic can be a scary place for a child to visit, which is why our team have created an environment where patients of all ages are welcome, even the young ones. We’ll put them at ease and explain exactly what we’re doing and why.

We often find that children think it’s pretty cool to see their teeth on a computer screen, so it doesn’t take long for the worry to disappear!

Give your child’s teeth the best start in life. Book them in for an early orthodontic consultation with one of our friendly specialist orthodontist and we’ll look after their teeth from day one.