Increasing treatment frequency
It's hard for today's teenagers to escape braces or dentures. According to the French Union for Oral Health (UFSBD), 60% of children should have orthodontic treatment between the ages of 9 and 12.
It is recommended to have a check-up around 7 years old.
Phase I : Interception treatment (4 to 11 years)
Treatment must be started at the right time to ensure the best result.
Orthodontic treatment can be performed even if there are still many baby teeth. It will be an interceptive treatment.
This phase known as the interception phase is fundamental because it makes it possible to stop the evolution of an orthodontic problem and to obtain a harmonious growth of the face.
At this time there may exist :
- A significant overlapping of the teeth can lead to a loosening of the teeth :
Orthodontic correction of a tooth in reverse occlusion thus preventing its loosening
- A narrowness and offset of the jaw preventing the eruption of permanent teeth (often the upper lateral incisors), it may be related to thumb sucking :
Orthodontic expansion of the upper jaw and creation of space for eruption of the lateral incisors
- An offset between the two jaws (horizontal or vertical) :
- Reverse occlusion :
- Significant malpositioning of the incisors :
Orthodontic correction of malpositioned incisors
Treatments use the growth period of the jaw to correct malformations.
It is possible to extract a milk tooth that is interfering with the eruption of a permanent tooth, to fit a fixed appliance or to offer a removable appliance.
Small appliances that are very well tolerated by children normalize the growth of the jaws to :
- avoid dental abscesses due to a permanent blocked tooth
- redirect the eruption of a permanent tooth
- improve breathing (by widening the upper jaw)
- avoid loosening of teeth
- improve speech and phonation by correcting the space between the upper and lower teeth
- reduce or even eliminate the need for braces during adolescence
Monitoring phase
A surveillance period follows the interception phase.
It will make it possible to monitor the evolution of the permanent teeth and the growth of the jaws.
It allows us to plan the resumption of treatment with braces (phase II) at the most favourable time to guarantee the best result and the shortest time.
Monitoring appointments take place approximately every 4 to 12 months.
It is sometimes necessary to have a baby tooth removed which prevents the development of the underlying permanent tooth.
Your specialist orthodontist works in close collaboration with other health professionals : your dental surgeon to treat possible cavities, remove a baby tooth, ENT specialists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, even phoniatrists (education in swallowing, phonation or breathing) and your doctor or paediatrician to ensure your child's harmonious development during this growth period.
Phase II : Conventional treatment (ages 12 to 16)
At this time, all the permanent teeth erupt (canines, premolars and second molars).
Orthodontic treatments allow to correct :
- a dental misalignment
- poor interlocking of upper and lower teeth
They also allow the teeth to be moved between them to make room for those that are blocked.
If the child still has growth potential in the jaws, it is still possible to correct a jaw misalignment or to enlarge a jaw that is too small.
Orthodontic correction of a slight overlap of upper and lower teeth
Correction of a major offset of the upper and lower jaws and closure of the interdental spaces
Complex cases also need to be dealt with :
- Absence of permanent teeth (agenesis).
- Lateral incisors may be missing and replaced by canines. The present teeth are then moved and the spaces corresponding to the missing teeth are thus closed. At the end of the treatment, the morphology of these canines is modified to achieve a better aesthetic result.
Orthodontic placement of canines in place of non-existent lateral incisors
- These may be absent bicuspids. In some cases, the space left by the agenesis is maintained and replaced by an implant. The choice of closing the spaces or replacing the space with an implant depends on the clinical situation.
- Impacted teeth : these are teeth that remain blocked inside the jaw (lack of space, bad orientation, presence of milk teeth that have hindered the eruption of a permanent tooth...). They are most often canines. Orthodontic treatment allows them to be pulled and placed on the dental arch.
Placement of a canine included in the bone by orthodontic traction
Multi-rings treatments are most common at this age. This is an appliance attached to each tooth. But it is also possible, depending on the situation, to use removable transparent gutters for more comfort and aesthetics : these are the Invisalign® gutters.
Increasing treatment frequency
It's hard for today's teenagers to escape braces or dentures. According to the French Union for Oral Health (UFSBD), 60% of children should have orthodontic treatment between the ages of 9 and 12.
It is recommended to have a check-up around 7 years old.
Phase I : Interception treatment (4 to 11 years)
Treatment must be started at the right time to ensure the best result.
Orthodontic treatment can be performed even if there are still many baby teeth. It will be an interceptive treatment.
This phase known as the interception phase is fundamental because it makes it possible to stop the evolution of an orthodontic problem and to obtain a harmonious growth of the face.
At this time there may exist :
- A significant overlapping of the teeth can lead to a loosening of the teeth :
Orthodontic correction of a tooth in reverse occlusion thus preventing its loosening
- A narrowness and offset of the jaw preventing the eruption of permanent teeth (often the upper lateral incisors), it may be related to thumb sucking :
Orthodontic expansion of the upper jaw and creation of space for eruption of the lateral incisors
- An offset between the two jaws (horizontal or vertical) :
- Reverse occlusion :
- Significant malpositioning of the incisors :
Orthodontic correction of malpositioned incisors
Treatments use the growth period of the jaw to correct malformations.
It is possible to extract a milk tooth that is interfering with the eruption of a permanent tooth, to fit a fixed appliance or to offer a removable appliance.
Small appliances that are very well tolerated by children normalize the growth of the jaws to :
- avoid dental abscesses due to a permanent blocked tooth
- redirect the eruption of a permanent tooth
- improve breathing (by widening the upper jaw)
- avoid loosening of teeth
- improve speech and phonation by correcting the space between the upper and lower teeth
- reduce or even eliminate the need for braces during adolescence
Monitoring phase
A surveillance period follows the interception phase.
It will make it possible to monitor the evolution of the permanent teeth and the growth of the jaws.
It allows us to plan the resumption of treatment with braces (phase II) at the most favourable time to guarantee the best result and the shortest time.
Monitoring appointments take place approximately every 4 to 12 months.
It is sometimes necessary to have a baby tooth removed which prevents the development of the underlying permanent tooth.
Your specialist orthodontist works in close collaboration with other health professionals : your dental surgeon to treat possible cavities, remove a baby tooth, ENT specialists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, even phoniatrists (education in swallowing, phonation or breathing) and your doctor or paediatrician to ensure your child's harmonious development during this growth period.
Phase II : Conventional treatment (ages 12 to 16)
At this time, all the permanent teeth erupt (canines, premolars and second molars).
Orthodontic treatments allow to correct :
- a dental misalignment
- poor interlocking of upper and lower teeth
They also allow the teeth to be moved between them to make room for those that are blocked.
If the child still has growth potential in the jaws, it is still possible to correct a jaw misalignment or to enlarge a jaw that is too small.
Orthodontic correction of an important overlap and placement of all permanent teeth on the dental arcade
Orthodontic correction of a slight overlap of upper and lower teeth
Correction of a major offset of the upper and lower jaws and closure of the interdental spaces
Complex cases also need to be dealt with :
- Absence of permanent teeth (agenesis).
- Lateral incisors may be missing and replaced by canines. The present teeth are then moved and the spaces corresponding to the missing teeth are thus closed. At the end of the treatment, the morphology of these canines is modified to achieve a better aesthetic result.
Orthodontic placement of canines in place of non-existent lateral incisors
- These may be absent bicuspids. In some cases, the space left by the agenesis is maintained and replaced by an implant. The choice of closing the spaces or replacing the space with an implant depends on the clinical situation.
- Impacted teeth : these are teeth that remain blocked inside the jaw (lack of space, bad orientation, presence of milk teeth that have hindered the eruption of a permanent tooth...). They are most often canines. Orthodontic treatment allows them to be pulled and placed on the dental arch.
Placement of a canine included in the bone by orthodontic traction
Multi-rings treatments are most common at this age. This is an appliance attached to each tooth. But it is also possible, depending on the situation, to use removable transparent gutters for more comfort and aesthetics : these are the Invisalign® gutters.