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Dentofacial Orthopedics and Interceptive Orthodontics |
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Potential Benefits of Timely Treatment
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Influence growth of the jaws in a
positive manner
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Improve the width of the dental
arches
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Reduce the need to extract
permanent teeth
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Reduce or eliminate the need for
jaw surgery
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Lower the risk of trauma to
protruded front teeth
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Correct harmful oral habits
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Reduce appearance-consciousness
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Simplify and shorten treatment
time for definitive orthodontic treatment
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Increase the stability of final
treatment results
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Reduce the likelihood of impacted
permanent teeth
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Improve speech development
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Improve the position of first
permanent molars
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Guide permanent teeth into more
favorable positions
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Improve lip closure
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Preserve or gain space for
erupting permanent teeth
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Reduce the potential for damage
to TM joints
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Better cooperation before the
teenage years
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Q. When is the best time to refer a child with a
skeletal disproportion or oral habit?
A. Because some orthodontic problems respond best to early
correction, the child should be referred as soon as a problem is
recognized. Optimal treatment timing will be determined by an
accurate differential diagnosis and the growth and development
of the individual patient.
Q. Why are some children treated before all of the
permanent teeth erupt?
A. In most cases where early orthodontic treatment is
recommended, the objective of interceptive treatment will be one
or more of the following :
• To correct jaw disproportions before aligning the teeth
• To prevent injury to protruded teeth
• To manage insufficient archlength (crowding)
• To eliminate damaging habits
With these problems , timely treatment may provide advantages
that are not available later. After the permanent teeth erupt,
the treatment objective is to achieve optimal alignment,
esthetics, function, and stability.
Q. Do all children with orthodontic problems require
interceptive treatment?
A. No, The need for interceptive orthodontics must be determined
on an individual basis. After a thorough diagnosis, the
orthodontist will determine if the benefits and opportunities
significantly outweigh the time and effort involved in two
phases of treatment. For many children, a delayed single- phase
treatment is the best approach.
Q. Why are serial or selective extractions recommended
for some young patients?
A. Early removal of selected primary teeth can be necessary to
guide the eruption of permanent teeth. Carefully-timed
extractions may prevent a variety of problems including:
• Palatal impaction or high eruption of permanent canines with
little or no attached gingiva
• Root resorption, especially on permanent lateral incisors
• Severe crowding in the permanent dentition requiring extensive
appliance therapy
Q. Why is age 7 an ideal time for screening by an
orthodontist?
A. With the presence of permanent incisors and the first molars
the orthodontist can evaluate skeletal and occlusal
relationships as well as present and future crowding. Also,
habit patterns, facial asymmetries and fracture-prone incisors
are likely to be apparent by age 7. A seven- year – old also has
the available growth that may be critical to an ideal treatment
result.
Q. Why is the term dentofacial orthopedics used in
orthodontics?
A. The objective of contemporary orthodontics is a well –
proportioned face, as well as an esthetic and stable dentition.
For that reason, the orthodontist must evaluate the dental
arches and face in three dimensions of space: transverse,
anteroposterior, and vertical. It is often through facial
orthopedics that the orthodontist is able to achieve a treatment
result with jaws in proportion to each other and to the rest of
the face.
Q How should the child be managed when the need for
interceptive orthodontics is unclear?
A. There should be no concern about being “wrong“ when the child
who is referred does not need treatment. If in doubt, refer.
There are three likely outcomes when a child is referred in a
timely manner for an orthodontic screening. All of these are
positive. |
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