Two-Phase Treatment
At Habern Orthodontics we are committed to preventing extractions of any or all permanent premolars. Dr. Habern’s philosophy starts with early treatment (Phase One therapy) in order provided enough space to prevent extractions. When early treatment is recommended, Dr. Habern uses a two-phase program. This two-phase orthodontic treatment involves the diagnosis and correction of orthodontic problems in two separate stages to achieve the optimal results.
Phase One (early) treatment takes place during a child’s younger active growth years (age 7-9 years) before skeletal jaw problems are firmly established. Interceptive treatment plans are designed to guide and enhance the child’s own natural growth to establish proper jaw size, and to correctly position the jaws in relationship to each other. A variety of orthodontic appliances will produce dentofacial orthopedics to improve the structural foundation and to create space for the larger erupting permanent teeth.
Following the completion of Phase One treatment, Dr. Habern will schedule periodic observation visits to monitor the growth and dental development. Retainers will be used during this intermediate period to retain or hold the accomplished results from Phase One treatment and to help guide the permanent teeth into their proper position.
A second phase of orthodontic treatment will be necessary after the eruption of most or all of the permanent teeth (age 11-13 years). This final tooth alignment and detailing is accomplished with the use of full appliances such as braces or Invisalign to establish the optimal functional occlusion and smile aesthetics.