Many parents are really worried about this question.
I want to say this very clearly: The point of doing braces early and doing braces later are very different!
If we put on braces “early” (around age 7 – 10 years old), we have very specific goals in mind. We may want to make your mouth bigger for the erupting adult teeth, we may want to move some teeth that have come in to the mouth in the wrong or a damaging position, or we may want to address a serious bite problem. These “growth modification” goals are very specific and take between 6 – 12 months. We never put braces on all of the teeth and do not expect your teeth to look “perfect” at the end.
When we put braces on “later”, after all the adult teeth are in, we plan for “comprehensive treatment.” We can make all of the teeth straight and address all of the bite issues that you have. At the end of treatment – approximately 18 months later – your teeth should look as good as we can get them. And if you wear your retainers, they should stay there for life!
So some children DO get braces twice, but we’ll make sure that we explain to you what the goals of the two treatments are so that you don’t feel like we treated “too early” or didn’t do a good job the first time.
Please don’t let the thought of “braces twice” scare you off from coming in for a consultation – those early treatments are easier than you think and can prevent serious complications in the future. Give us a call at (707) 938 – 5255 for your complimentary evaluation today and we can discuss what options are best for you!