Take a few moments to think about your kids. What kind of life do you want them to have when they grow up and become adults.

Think about the milestones — graduating, getting married, having kids of their own. You want to be there for them and to see those moments. You probably want to have pictures of their smiling faces during those big events as well.

Knowing this, we want to encourage you to schedule an orthodontic assessment for your kids now. Taking steps today can protect those smiles when they are older. Dentofacial orthopedics could play a valuable role in making that happen.

At our Orthodontic Alliances in Indiana, we are ready to help your children have great smiles for decades to come. Call 219-809-6584 (Michigan City) 219-841-7795 (Portage) 219-440-6512 (St. John) to schedule an appointment.

Bring Your Child in for a Checkup

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. This is also a good time to remind you that the American Association of Orthodontists recommends that your child receive an orthodontic checkup around their 7th birthday.

By this time, your child will probably have lost some primary teeth, and that’s OK. The purpose of this visit to assess where things are and how their mouth is developing. We want to see if they have room for their permanent teeth to erupt and to see if there may be any issues that affect how those teeth erupt.

In many cases, nothing needs to be done at this time. However, this can help you and your child prepare for when they may need orthodontic treatment when they are older.

While most patients don’t need anything done, some patients will benefit from dentofacial orthopedics, which is one of the many services that we offer.

Take Control of the Smile Situation

You may be asking, “What are dentofacial orthopedics?”

Put simply, this includes treatments to guide the development of your child’s mouth to minimize problems as their permanent teeth erupt. It’s likely they will still need some orthodontic treatment when they are older. However, by intervening now, you can reduce the severity of problems down the road. This can reduce the time needed to create the straight smile and perfectly aligned bite that you want for your kids when they are adults.

With these techniques, we can encourage your child’s jaw growth. For instance, if someone’s upper and lower jaws have not grown at a similar rate, someone may have a strong or weak chin. Using special appliances to guide the growth, the smaller jaw can catch up.

Often, this kind of early intervention can make treatments with braces or clear aligners much easier for a child as they become a teenager.

Come See Us Soon

We want your children to have great smiles today, tomorrow, and decades from now. Whether they can benefit from dentofacial orthopedics, traditional braces, or one of our other services, know that we are here to help all of our Orthodontic Alliances locations in Indiana. Contact us online or call: