Adolescent Treatment

Comprehensive or Adolescent Treatment

The Second Group of Permanent Teeth Erupt

Most patients with benefit from comprehensive orthodontics during adolecence. This ‘gold standard” timing of care is known to be the period when the most amount of correction can be achieved in the shortest period of time and often prior to the busy high school years.

Example of Adolescent Treatment was accomplished without removing teeth utilizing "self ligating" braces.

Here is a young girl who needed overbite correction without removing teeth or using a headgear. A Forsus device was installed for 9 months with her braces.

This young patient had a narrow smile due to a combination of oral habits. A palate expander was followed by full braces to complete her smile transfromation.

Gianelly, a world-renowned orthodontic educator and publisher has described the ideal period of time to start orthodontic care as “after the first bicuspids erupt and prior to the second molar appearance. This allows for anchor teeth to make room for the permanent canines and the ability to position the first molar teeth prior to the growth of the second molars.

Patients are usually able to be managed without removing permanent teeth with the use of rubber bands for jaw (overjet and underbite) correction. Other appliances utilized for jaw issues include Forsus, Herbst and Carriere, which are the latest in technology that allows for maximum jaw correction without the use of unsightly headgear or surgery.

Care usually:

Begins on the upper jaw to shape the smile.
Moves to the lower arch
Finishes when the twelve year molars appear.
Utilizes self-ligating (Pitts, Damon, braces) appliances to maximize width and protect the smile arc.
Clear Aligners may be utilized or suggested.
Elastics are almost always required as well as thick sealants (bite turbos) to separate the teeth for speedy treatment.
In rare instances, permanent teeth may need to be removed to align and fit the teeth together properly or align the center lines for appearance and bite.

Adding braces in steps is similar to the sequence that top cosmetic dentists utilize to create beautiful smiles for patients of all ages.

At the completion of treatment, patients will have their third molars, (wisdom teeth) evaluated for either growth or removal in order to complete the treatment

A short period of retainer wear full time will be followed by night time only wear for as long as patients wish to ensure that their smile stays beautiful.