Whether you’re a first-time parent considering orthodontic treatment for your child or an adult wanting to finally cross “Perfect Smile” off their list of goals, you’ve got to know when the right time to book the first orthodontic appointment is. Fortunately, it’s not complicated to “calculate,” and Goings Orthodontics is here to help.
What Is Orthodontics?
Orthodontics is a specialized dental practice that aligns and straightens teeth to improve bite function and enhance overall dental health. Using various appliances like metal braces, clear braces, clear aligners, palatal expanders, retainers, and more, orthodontists gently guide teeth into their optimal positions. This treatment can correct overcrowded, misaligned, or gapped teeth and address jaw alignment issues.
Orthodontic treatment at Goings Orthodontics is a great option for anyone with aesthetic or functional issues in Fort Collins or Windsor. We help build confident smiles and promote a healthier mouth for many in the area.
What Are The Benefits Of Orthodontic Treatment?
Orthodontic care has many benefits beyond creating a smile that you love seeing in the mirror and showing off to others. When you create straight teeth using braces or aligners, you boost your opinion of yourself and improve the way others perceive you, especially for first impressions.
Health Benefits
- Improved Oral Hygiene: Straight teeth are easier to brush and floss, which helps prevent cavities, gum disease, and plaque buildup. Evenly spaced, straight teeth have fewer hard-to-reach places for food to get stuck or bacteria and plaque to hide. This means they’re easier to clean, which also means you’re more likely to have better oral hygiene and health!
- Better Bite Alignment: Correcting bite issues (like overbite, underbite, or crossbite) reduces strain on teeth, jaws, and muscles, lowering the risk of tooth wear or TMJ disorders.
- Speech Improvement: Misaligned teeth or jaws can affect speech, and orthodontics can help improve pronunciation and clarity.
- Easier Breathing: Misalignments also have an impact on your breathing. A narrow upper jaw or misplaced lower jaw can make it challenging to get enough air through your nose, causing mouth breathing and sleep apnea. Both consequences can have a negative influence on many aspects of your overall well-being, including your sleep, oral health, and lung health.
Aesthetic Benefits
- Enhanced Appearance: Straighter teeth lead to a more balanced, confident smile, which can improve self-esteem and overall appearance.
- Facial Symmetry: Proper jaw alignment can enhance facial balance and symmetry.
Psychosocial Benefits
- Confidence Boost: People often feel more confident and socially comfortable with a smile they’re proud of.
- Positive First Impressions: A healthy smile can leave a lasting impression in personal and professional settings.
- Potential To Save Time & Money: When you have better oral health, you’ll spend less time and money at the dentist, periodontist, or other oral healthcare offices.
Functional Benefits
- Better Chewing and Digestion: Proper alignment improves bite efficiency, which helps in chewing food thoroughly. When teeth are aligned correctly, they chew more efficiently, breaking down food into smaller, more manageable pieces to make it easier for your stomach and intestines to process food and extract nutrients.
- Prevention of Dental Trauma: Protruding teeth are more vulnerable to injury; orthodontics can reduce this risk.
When Should Children Have Their First Orthodontic Appointment?
The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) recommends that all children should see an orthodontist at age seven. Though it sounds young, it’s not! This is the ideal time for an orthodontic evaluation because of the mix of adult and baby teeth allows orthodontists like Dr. Goings to determine if your child is at risk of developing alignment issues or if they have already begun to show signs of malocclusion. We can use this information to plan the perfect time to begin treatment, whether it’s now or waiting until the teen years.
Most children don’t need to begin orthodontic treatment right away and can wait until they’re a little older. Still, it is crucial that all children receive a smile assessment around this time. As they get older, untreated alignment problems can worsen, creating symptoms like mouth breathing, oral health complications, and discomfort. They also become harder to treat as the body slows development and begins “settling in” for adulthood. If they need early intervention, also known as phase one treatment, an assessment at age seven and professional monitoring of their smile as they grow is how you’ll find out.
If your child is already a teen, don’t worry. They can still come in for a first appointment and begin treatment if necessary.
Is It Too Late For Adults To Achieve Straight Teeth?
It’s never too late to straighten your teeth if you have healthy teeth and gums. Goings Orthodontics gladly accepts patients of all ages, including adults. You can be a first-time patient, or you can be seeking another round of orthodontic treatment to address teeth shifting after braces or aligners in your childhood or the teen years. If you’re unhappy with your smile, we encourage you to come in for a consultation. Our Fort Collins orthodontist can help you love your reflection in the mirror, regardless of your age!
Do You Have To Wait For A Referral From A Dentist?
Waiting for a referral from your or your child’s dentist to schedule your first orthodontic appointment is not recommended. It’s best to bring children in around age seven, teens who haven’t been evaluated should be seen as soon as possible, and adults who want to begin treatment can make an appointment at their convenience.
Dentists are incredible oral healthcare providers, and they’re essential to your oral health and well-being. However, they are not orthodontists. Orthodontists are dentists who, after dental school, receive specialized training in diagnosing, preventing, and treating dental and facial irregularities. This means Dr. Goings has a better understanding of misalignment issues and can spot hard-to-spot complications or foresee developing problems that a dentist can’t.
Schedule Your First Appointment Today!
The start of your and your family’s stress-free and enjoyable orthodontic experience is just a free assessment away. The Goings Orthodontics teams in Fort Collins and Windsor are here for you in person or virtually when you’re ready. We’ll help you navigate insurance, create a custom treatment plan, and improve your smile with minimal disruptions to your daily life.
You deserve the smile you wish you had. Schedule your free consultation online or by phone today. We can’t wait to see you!
