It has been one year since our office kicked off our 7&Up campaign designed to promote the benefits of having children evaluated by an orthodontist by age 7.
Before you toss aside all of those constructive New Years resolutions you may have made, we’re relaunching 7&Up again in hope that parents will add this to their 2015 resolutions: bringing your 7-year-olds to our office.
We often think of teens and tweens when we think of the stereotypical orthodontic patient. But when certain types of bite and alignment issues are involved, younger children stand to benefit the most from orthodontic treatment, says Dr. Mark Bronsky, a New York City braces expert. This is why the American Association of Orthodontists says kids should see an orthodontist at this young age.
By age 7, your child has a mixture of baby and adult teeth and her bite is established. This makes it possible for us to identify potential orthodontic issues that could benefit from early treatment. Jawbone growth can be guided at this age, which allows Dr. Bronsky to create room for the permanent teeth if necessary.
This early treatment can result in less invasive treatment needed in the future. For example, addressing malocclusions such as underbite at a young age can prevent your child from requiring surgery to correct the problem once she is older.
This is also a good time to correct detrimental oral habits that can affect your child’s bite and tooth alignment, such as thumb sucking, tongue thrusting and mouth breathing.
You might take comfort in knowing that most children don’t require treatment at this stage of development. If your child fits into this category, we will place her in our monitoring program, where we offer a complimentary visit every six months to evaluate growth and determine when and if orthodontic treatment is necessary.
We want your children to feel excited about their orthodontic visit, so our Park Avenue and TriBeCa offices are decorated with 7 Up logos in honor of our campaign. We also have a guessing game in the front where patients can guess the number of marbles in a jar to win a prize. Your children also can earn points at each visit, which can be used to collect cool prizes, such as iTunes gift cards.
Please call one of our New York City locations today if your child hasn’t received an orthodontic checkup. We are happy to schedule you for a consultation with Dr. Bronsky.
Remember, it’s never too early to ensure your son or daughter has a pleasing and healthy smile that will last a lifetime.
