{"id":940,"date":"2018-11-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-14T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/interceptive-orthodontics-basics-2\/"},"modified":"2018-11-14T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-14T00:00:00","slug":"interceptive-orthodontics-basics-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/interceptive-orthodontics-basics-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Interceptive Orthodontics: The Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistryblog.socialmediafordentistry2.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/91\/2018\/11\/interceptive-orthodontics_543.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"543\" height=\"543\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1752\" \/>  <strong>WHEN WE PICTURE SOMEONE<\/strong> with braces, we usually picture a teenager with a mouthful of colorful brackets. What we don\u2019t typically picture is orthodontic appliances on younger children. However, interceptive orthodontics can reduce the need for tooth extraction and jaw surgery, correct certain problems as they appear, encourage better facial development, shorten the length of orthodontic treatment needed later on, and leave patients with a better overall result in the end. <\/p>\n<h3><strong>Interceptive Orthodontics Heads Off Problems Early<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> Conventional wisdom argues that orthodontic treatment shouldn\u2019t start until all the adult teeth have grown in, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dentalassociates.com\/our-services\/braces-orthodontics\/early-treatment-phase-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some issues<\/a> with bite, alignment, and facial development can show up long before those teeth do. That\u2019s where interceptive or \u201cPhase 1\u201d orthodontics comes in. An orthodontist can help your child\u2019s jaw bones grow properly to have more room for the adult teeth and provide the structure for a healthier bite. Correcting problems like malocclusions (bad bites) as they appear <strong>makes future orthodontic treatment much faster and easier<\/strong> \u2014 and, in some cases, unnecessary! <\/p>\n<h3><strong>Causes Of Malocclusions In Children<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> Interceptive orthodontics seeks to correct problems with jaw growth and damage from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthworkscollective.com\/what-interceptive-orthodontics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">harmful habits<\/a> such as <strong>thumb sucking, nail biting, tongue thrusting, and mouth breathing<\/strong>. Each of these habits contributes to bite problems such as a narrow upper arch, an underdeveloped lower jaw, a deep bite, and an open bite, as well as dental crowding, which in turn can make it difficult to chew and swallow effectively and speak clearly. The purpose of Phase 1 treatment is to stop those habits if they persist or repair the damage so that the adult teeth can grow in where they should.  <strong>Don\u2019t see how something like mouth breathing can cause dental problems? Watch this video:<\/strong>  <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1-U5O7HCt0A?rel=0\" width=\"543\" height=\"305\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe> <\/p>\n<h3><strong>Common Phase 1 Treatments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> One of the most noticeable differences between Phase 1 and Phase 2 orthodontics is that Phase 1 is less focused on actual braces. Those typically come later, if they are still needed. Some of the treatments commonly used in Phase 1 include: <\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Upper jaw expansion<\/strong> to eliminate a crossbite<\/li>\n<li><strong>Expansion of one or both jaws<\/strong> to create more room for adult teeth<\/li>\n<li><strong>Early extraction of specific baby teeth<\/strong> to help adult teeth come in properly<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keeping space open for permanent teeth<\/strong> after premature loss of a baby tooth<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reduction of upper front teeth protrusion<\/strong> to protect from trauma<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Is Your Child A Candidate For Interceptive Orthodontics?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p> Phase 1 orthodontics works better for correcting some problems than others. The best way you can find out if it can help your child get the healthy, properly aligned smile they deserve is to bring them in for an orthodontic consultation around age 7 \u2014 especially if you\u2019ve noticed any obvious bite problems or if they have one or more of those harmful oral health habits. In the meantime, keep encouraging them to do their brushing and flossing! <\/p>\n<h4>Our top priority is helping our patients achieve healthy smiles for life!<\/h4>\n<h6>Top image by Flickr user <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/22986659@N04\/3641404138\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stephanie Ezcurra<\/a><\/span> used under <span style=\"color: #2a7abd;\"><a style=\"color: #2a7abd;\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license<\/a><\/span>. Image cropped and modified from original.<\/h6>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #d9d9d9;\">The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>WHEN WE PICTURE SOMEONE<\/strong> with braces, we usually picture a teenager with a mouthful of colorful brackets. What we don\u2019t typically&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176,273,274,276,275],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-dental-posts","category-general-dental","category-orthodontic","category-pediatric","category-176","category-273","category-274","category-276","category-275","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=940"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}