A patient can expect a variety of services from their local orthodontist in O’Fallon, MO. They provide the latest treatments to both children and adults.
When Should A Child Have Their First Orthodontic Appointment?
Authorities now recommend that a child have their first appointment with an orthodontist by the time they are seven years old. Their adult teeth will have started to grow in by that time, and the orthodontist in O’ Fallon, MO, will be able to spot developing problems.
What Does the Orthodontist Mean by the Term Functional Orthodontics?
Functional orthodontics takes a broad approach to correcting problems like bad bites, narrow palates, and constricted airways, while traditional orthodontics is concerned simply with straightening teeth. Functional orthodontics is also often known as the Two-Phase Treatment.
What Kinds of Treatments Can Functional Orthodontics Include?
The first phase, which can start when the child is as young as five, takes advantage of the child’s flexible and soft jawbones by correcting problems with different dental appliances or behavior modification as in thumb or finger sucking. The orthodontist, for example, can recommend a palate expander to widen a child’s lower jaw and make room for their adult teeth. An adult with a narrow palate would need surgery to correct it.
The second stage, if it is needed, is simply straightening teeth. The orthodontist in O’Fallon, MO, can offer traditional metal braces or Invisalign.
Contact New Age Dental Care or schedule an appointment with an orthodontist in O’Fallon, MO.