The American Association of Orthodontist recommend age 7 as the magic number to see an orthodontist. At this age, generally, the child has permanent teeth erupted like molars. There are a number of things that can be diagnosed at this age like significant bite problems — overbites, underbites, cross-bites. Other things like missing teeth or extra teeth can also be diagnosed.
There are a handful of things you want to know. It may not be the time to correct it, but quite frankly, our early interceptive treatment is very conservative. There are a handful of things I believe, if you treat early, we can provide a better final result in the long run. That, to me, is a no brainer. I recommend we do that.
There are other interceptive treatment options I don’t believe will provide a better long-term result, and we don’t generally recommend that. Aesthetic concerns are case by case — for some children aesthetic children are a real problem and for others not so much.
We spend a good bit of time when we are dealing with younger kids talking about problems that need to be addressed and if there are things that need to be fixed. We really want you to have the information to feel comfortable making a decision that is right for your child.