Download DOES YOUR CHILD REALLY NEED BRACES?

SPECIAL REPORT
DOES YOUR CHILD REALLY NEED
BRACES?
www.WilsonOrthodontics.com
CONTENTS
About this Special Report………………………………………………………………….....................3
At What Age Should My Child First See An Orthodontist?.......................................4
What Problems Can Be Found At An Early Age?......................................................5
Does Every Child Benefit From Early Orthodontic Treatment?................................6
Why Choose an Orthodontic Specialist?...................................................................7
What Happens If My Child Isn’t Ready for Braces?..................................................8
What Payment Options Are Available If My Child Needs Braces?............................9
SPECIAL REPORT: Does Your Child Really Need Braces?
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About This Special Report
Dear Friend,
I wrote this report specifically for parents who are wondering whether or not
their child really needs braces. As a parent, I share your desire to do what is best
for your child while only doing things that are necessary and/or beneficial. It is
my hope that this special report will assist you in better understanding early
orthodontic treatment and braces and how they can help your child achieve a
healthy, beautiful smile.
As an orthodontist, every day I get questions from parents who wonder if their
child needs braces, what age should they start treatment and can treatment be
accomplished in one phase or are two phases necessary. In this special report, I
am addressing some of these common questions. After reading this report, you
will learn the answers to these common questions and have a better
understanding about the benefits of early treatment, the age children should be
seen by an orthodontist, and different financing options when paying for braces.
I hope this special report is helpful and please feel free to contact my office with
any questions or to schedule a complimentary exam for your child.
Sincerely,
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At What Age Should My Child First See An
Orthodontist?
While there is no exact age to begin orthodontic treatment, the American
Association of Orthodontists recommends all children have a check-up with an
orthodontic specialist by age 7. I am in complete agreement with this statement.
By age 7, children's teeth and jaws have developed to the point that we can
discover potential problems that may be associated with erupting teeth and jaw
alignment.
For the majority of 7 year olds, the first visit is nothing more than a screening
exam. It will serve as a baseline as your child continues to develop and get new
teeth. There are some children, approximately 10-15 percent, who can benefit
from what we refer to as "interceptive orthodontics".
There are specific dental issues we may and treat, including:
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early loss of baby teeth
impacted teeth
jaw alignment issues
excessive crowding or spacing
By addressing the issues above, we also help eliminate
social/psychological issues that may result from being
teased about their dental appearance. A beautiful smile
not only improves confidence in a child, it assures a much
healthier mouth!
SPECIAL REPORT: Does Your Child Really Need Braces?
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What Problems Can Be Found At An Early Age?
There are very few problems parents can see when looking at their child's mouth.
It takes a trained eye to carefully examine your child's mouth to find the majority
of problems that might be present at an early age.
Here is a list of the most common problems that may be found:
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Crossbites (front or back teeth)
Impacted teeth
Severe crowding
Irregular spacing
Narrow palate
Ectopic eruption
Jaw misalignment
Early or late loss of baby teeth
Thumb sucking effects
Blocked out teeth
Upper and lower teeth that do not meet properly
As detailed above, there are many problems that may be present as early as age
7. The best way to rule out any of these problems is to have your child evaluated
by an orthodontist. Most children that need interceptive orthodontics won't
begin treatment until age 8 or 9, but it is critical to catch problems early to help
minimize the additional problems created as they get older.
By taking your child to the orthodontist at age 7, you are assuring they get the
best head start on finding and addressing any problems present. This will ensure
a future with a healthy, beautiful smile.
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Does Every Child Benefit From Early Orthodontic
Treatment?
At this point, you may be worried that every child needs early orthodontic
treatment. That just isn't the case. In my office, I have examined several
thousand children and found that the number of them requiring early orthodontic
treatment was only 10-15 percent.
There is only one way to determine if your
child falls into the 10-15 percent of children
and that is to see an orthodontist. Early
detection is the key factor in eliminating
problems that cannot be corrected when the
child is older. If we can reduce the likelihood
of jaw surgery or lessen the need for
permanent tooth extraction down the road,
you will be thankful your child had early
orthodontic treatment.
If your child has yet to see an orthodontist
and is already past age 7, now is the time!
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Why Choose An Orthodontic Specialist?
Many parents wonder if they really need to take their child to see an orthodontist
if they are already being seen by their regular dentist. While a dentist plays
animportant role in maintaining your child's oral health, seeing an orthodontist is
crucial to ensuring that nothing is overlooked and the optimal treatments are
selected and performed.
To understand why a specialist is recommended, it is important to know what an
orthodontist is and what they do. An orthodontist is a dental specialist that
completes an additional 2-3 years of specialty training in orthodontics after they
have completed dental school. More often than not, they graduated at or near
the top of their dental school class. They are experts in the art and science of
moving teeth into the ideal positions to create beautiful, healthy smiles. The
additional training enables an orthodontist to accurately identify, diagnose and
treat dental issues and conditions such as:
 Teeth that protrude
 Grinding or clenching of teeth
 Upper and lower teeth that do not
properly meet
 Early or late loss of teeth
 Difficulty with chewing or biting
 Crowding or blocked-out teeth
 Speech impediments
 Biting into the roof of the mouth
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By taking your child to an orthodontist, you know that you are getting to most indepth diagnosis and treatment for child that is available.
What Happens If My Child Isn't Ready For Braces?
Let’s say you’ve noticed some of the problems referred to earlier in this article
and you’ve decided to have an orthodontist examine your child. You finish the
appointment and the orthodontist tells you your child doesn’t need orthodontic
treatment at that time. What do you do now? Quite simply, you should work
with the orthodontist to monitor your child’s mouth as new teeth erupt.
Orthodontic treatment may still be necessary later in life if any problems are
detected.
We always recommend allowing us to continue
monitoring your child. We can obtain important
information and screen for jaw developmental
problems, tooth impactions and other problems
that may arise. Regular orthodontic check-ups are
an important part of maintaining your child’s
dental health.
Typically, we will monitor your child with a free exam every 6-12 months. Each
exam allows us to monitor jaw growth and alignment as well as early or late loss
of teeth that may affect future tooth alignment. By continuing to monitor your
child, we are able to determine the ideal time to put braces on.
Treating your child at the ideal time allows us to minimize the time your child is in
braces and obtain the highest quality result. This helps reduce decalcification and
other problems that can occur when braces are left on the teeth too long.
SPECIAL REPORT: Does Your Child Really Need Braces?
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What Payment Options Are Available If My Child Needs
Braces?
“How am I going to pay for braces?” is one of the most common questions that I
hear from parents. Unlike medical insurance, many families do not have
orthodontic insurance that covers
the cost of braces and those that
do realize it will only cover a
portion of the total expense.
However, orthodontic treatment is
very important in many aspects
including dental health and social
acceptance, and you should do
everything possible to provide it for
your child.
Like most significant dental procedures, orthodontic treatment is costly and can
range from $5,000 - $7,500. The silver lining is there are many options available
to those who do not have the funds readily available to pay for the treatment.
Listed below are a few payment options available:
 Flex Spending Accounts.Through the help of a Flex Spending Account (FSA),
many people are able to afford braces and other orthodontic treatment
options. An FSA is set up through your place of employment and allows
you to set aside pre-tax money for use in medical as well as dental
expenses. If you are eligible, you should get an FSA started now so this
money will be available when you need it.
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 3rd Party Financing.Most orthodontists have an outside 3rd party program
that will allow you to pay for orthodontic treatment over longer terms
using a low interest loan. The terms of the loan are determined by your
financial situation and credit score.
 In office Treatment Plans. This is an interest free plan that allows you to
make monthly payments for treatment services. Your orthodontist will
work with you in ensuring you have a comfortable monthly payment over
the length of treatment after a down payment has been made.
Don’t let paying for your child’s orthodontic treatment from discourage you
from seeking treatment. The payment options are available to assist you in
helping your child achieve a healthy, beautiful smile.
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I am grateful my parents provided braces for me as a young child. I
remember being too embarrassed to smile because my canine teeth were
up high, so I opted to not show my teeth in pictures.
Orthodontic treatment not only changed my appearance by giving me a
great smile, it changed my confidence level. It wasn’t easy for my parents
to pay for braces, but they found a way. That experience made such an
impact on me that I decided to become an orthodontist so I could give that
same life changing experience to other children.
I hope you have found this report helpful in answering some of the
questions you may have about your child’s orthodontic treatment. While I
can only address some of the more common questions here, I would be
more than happy to help you determine if your child needs braces by
offering a complimentary exam.
We are ready when you are, so please call my office today to schedule your
child’s initial exam. We have helped thousands of children improve their
smile and by bringing your child in we can help them achieve a healthy,
beautiful smile for life!
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