TL;DR
Almost anyone with healthy gums and bone can benefit from orthodontic treatment, from a seven-year-old with crowding to a retiree whose teeth have shifted over the decades. Children are worth a first orthodontic look by about age seven. Adults are good candidates when teeth are crowded, spaced, worn by an uneven bite or need to be in better position before crowns or veneers. At Stone Falls Dental in O’Fallon we check gum health first, then talk through Invisalign or another route, and new patients can ask for a free consultation or second opinion.
Who is a good candidate for orthodontic treatment?
A good candidate is anyone whose teeth or bite cause a problem and whose gums and supporting bone are healthy enough to let teeth move. Age matters less than people think. Teeth respond to gentle pressure at forty or seventy the same way they do at fourteen, though adult treatment can take a little longer.
The problem doesn’t have to be dramatic. Teeth that overlap enough to trap food, a front tooth that keeps chipping, or a bite that has slowly worn down the edges of your teeth are all reasons to ask.
What rules someone out for now is usually active gum disease or untreated decay. Those come first, and once they’re under control, many people go on to straighten their teeth.
Which bite problems does orthodontics treat?
Orthodontic treatment corrects the way individual teeth sit and the way the upper and lower teeth meet. The most common reasons people come in are below; the orthodontic dictionary defines each term in more detail.
- Crowding: too little room, so teeth twist or overlap
- Spacing: gaps left by small teeth, missing teeth or habits
- Overbite: upper front teeth cover too much of the lower ones
- Underbite: lower front teeth sit ahead of the upper ones
- Crossbite: some upper teeth close inside the lower teeth
- Open bite: front teeth don’t touch when the back teeth meet
- Shifted midline: the center of the upper and lower teeth don’t line up
At what age should a child have an orthodontic check?
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a child’s first orthodontic check by about age seven. By then the first permanent molars are in, and a dentist can see how the jaws are growing and whether the adult teeth are likely to have room.
Most children won’t need treatment that early. The point is to catch the few problems, such as a crossbite that pushes the jaw to one side, that are easier to guide while a child is still growing. We look for these at routine checkups, and if a growing jaw calls for an orthodontist’s early treatment, we’ll say so.
- Baby teeth lost much earlier or later than usual
- Crowded or blocked-out front teeth
- Breathing through the mouth most of the time
- Thumb or finger sucking past about age five
- A jaw that shifts to one side when closing
- Biting the cheek or the roof of the mouth
Is it too late to straighten teeth as an adult?
Straightening teeth as an adult is rarely too late. Many of the people we see for clear aligners are adults who had braces as children and watched their teeth drift, or who never had the chance to straighten them at all. Teeth keep moving slightly through life, and crowding of the lower front teeth often gets worse with age.
Adults also come to orthodontics for practical reasons. Lining up worn or tipped teeth first can make crowns, veneers or a bridge more conservative and longer-lasting, which is why Dr. Prane, whose training at the Dawson Academy centered on how the bite works as a whole, may suggest straightening before restorative work.
How do we decide whether orthodontics is right for you?
We decide together, after an exam that looks at your teeth, gums, bite and X-rays. If the gums need attention, we start there; our page on gum disease explains why that comes first.
If your teeth are ready to move, we’ll talk through what treatment would correct, how long it might take and what it would ask of you. For most adults and many teens that conversation leads to Invisalign clear aligners, which we plan from a digital scan. New patients can book a free consultation or second opinion, including a second look at an orthodontic plan from another office.