Most teens and parents usually come in seeking straight teeth and a healthy bite. Options for teen orthodontic treatment range from regular metal braces to clear outside braces or a clear aligner system such as Invisalign.
We get this question asked by parents almost every day. This age can be divided into early (12-15 years), middle (15-16 years) to late teens (17-18 years). It is important to realise these are approximate guidelines and what is most important is their bone age. This assessment can only be made when they attend for a consultation and with proper diagnosis.
Yes, if your son or daughter has an underlying jaw problem, it does make a difference when they start treatment, with earlier treatment leading to better outcomes.
This is the age when most teens have all their adult teeth through. At this age, their jaw is still developing and there is potential to correct narrow jaws, overbites and deep bites. These are corrected through jaw guidance solutions e.g., wearing a fixed or removable custom plate.
If crowding or spacing is present, it may indicated there is impacted teeth. They are best treated early to allow the teeth to come through naturally, so impaction does not worsen or damage adjacent teeth. Impacted teeth are identified through specialised x-rays done in our practice
Correcting jaws where there are jaw problems allows your son and daughter to obtain ideal smiles outcomes.
This age may be too late to offer jaw guidance options if your son or daughter has an underbite. This is because the areas where the jaw bones connect with other jaw bones ie: sutures, start to harden. In these situations, we may need to monitor his/ her growth till there is no further changes in the jaw position, before commencing orthodontic treatment.
There are a variety of appliance options you can choose from including clear outside braces, to self ligating braces, to invisible options like clear removable aligners ie: Invisalign®.
Which is the most effective and efficient for your smile and bite correction depends on the crowding and spacing present in your teeth and the type of teeth movements planned. Generally speaking, the above orthodontic appliances are restricted to mainly moving teeth.