Ages 7-10

• Need to monitor to ensure normal eruption of permanent teeth at the right time
• Need to plan for lack of spacing for the larger permanent teeth if crowding is an issue
• Need to look for bite issues that can affect growth of the jaws. Once patients develop imbalances in their jaw development, it is more difficult to correct.
• Crowding can often be reduced through expansion of the dental arches

Ages 11-14

• Ideal age due to peers undergoing treatment/social acceptance of treatment
• Ideal timing for certain appliances/procedures that require growth. Missing this growth support may severely limit options for treatment and result in need for more complex treatment or compromised treatment options.
• Permanent teeth are generally present
• Teeth that are unable to erupt normally due to abnormal loss of deciduous (baby) teeth or severe crowding can be addressed if needed to enable teeth to erupt at their normal timing. Delaying normal eruption may cause problems with the teeth that are unable to erupt normally as well as cause damage to the other teeth.

Ages 15-18

• Finishing before high school ends generally makes orthodontic treatment more convenient
• Nobody wants to have braces their senior year
• Expansion can often be accomplished without surgery if necessary at this age
• Teeth that haven’t come in can still be addressed with less difficulty than in adults