Mom To Mom: When You Should First Take Your Child to the Orthodontist

Sarah Pannell: “Today on Mom to Mom, we’re talking about when you should take your child to the Orthodontist for the first time.”

Sarah Pannell: “Joining us today is Meredith English. Thank you so much for being here. Everything is changed since I had braces. When is the best time to take your child in to the Orthodontist?”

Meredith Englis: “Sure. Well, one in every three children can benefit from early orthodontic treatment. We strongly suggest that you bring your child in at age seven.”

Sarah Pannell: “At age seven. When you bring your child in, what does that consultation look like?”

Meredith Englis: “Yeah. All we’re going to do is take a couple of photos, do an X-ray and then talk with the Doctor to see if your child is ready for treatment.”

Michael Pratt: “Looking at your teeth right now. You’ve got some more permanent teeth that need to come in and there’s just not enough space right now. By going ahead and fixing this now, we’re going to make things a lot easier down the road. It’s like all medicine, the sooner you fix it…”

Sarah Pannell: “Right.”

Michael Pratt: “The better it’s going to be. The easier it’s going to be. I think either using some braces or some Invisalign for about 12 months would work really, really well. You’ve got two great options.”

Meredith Englis: “Early orthodontic treatment is otherwise known as phase one, can have many benefits. Some of which include preventing pre-existing bite issues from getting worse, fixing existing crooked teeth and just improving the appearance of your growing child’s smile. It can also make comprehensive treatment or phase two shorter and easier, as well as reduce the chances of oral surgery and the need for extractions.”

Meredith Englis: “Easy enough right.”

Sarah Pannell: “So simple. Seven, that magic number seven.”

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