Orthodontic treatment may be undertaken at any age. However, your age will impact the cost, complexity, duration and type of treatment required.

There are generally four stages to Orthodontic treatment – Early Examination, Early treatment, Adolescent treatment and Adult treatment.

Early Examination
Within our practice we strongly recommend an early examination at around 7 to 8 years of age. Early examination will help us to identify any potential tooth or jaw problems and plan future treatment.

Early treatment (7 to 11 years of age)
For some patients we may recommend early treatment to prevent serious problems from occurring in the future. Treatment at this age will allow the teeth and jaws to grow in an environment free of functional interferences and give the developing permanent teeth as much room as possible to emerge successfully. Early treatment may achieve results not possible when the face and jaws have stopped growing.

Adolescent treatment (12 to 19 years of age)
This is the most common time to undergo Orthodontic treatment. Treatment for this age group generally involves braces or functional appliances. This is a great time to commence treatment as all permanent teeth have emerged and patients are experiencing growth and change toward the adult bite.

Adult Treatment (age 20 and above)
It is never too late to begin Orthodontic treatment. Braces are becoming more and more popular amongst adults and we regularly treat patients over 50 years of age. In fact some jaw problems can continue until all growth ceases and can only be dealt with in the adult years. Some severe situations cannot always be corrected with braces alone. In such cases, Orthodontic treatment combined with jaw surgery may achieve the dramatic improvements desired.

For more information on Orthodontics, please contact West Hills Family Dentistry Center today on (503) 291-0000 or click here to email us.