Here at Oubre Orthodontics, we’re proud to serve patients of all ages as we believe that everyone deserves to have a straight and healthy smile. Having said that, there’s one age group of people that we serve much more frequently than others – adolescents. While we always encourage parents to bring their children in at a young age (approximately seven) to visit their Youngsville and Lafayette, LA orthodontist to see if they need early treatment, the perfect time for a person to undergo treatment is during adolescence.
Why This Is the Perfect Time for Orthodontic Treatment
By the time a child reaches the age of 13, it’s very likely that all of his or her primary teeth will have been lost and the permanent teeth will have come in to replace them. This represents the earliest time which we can perform a standard adolescent orthodontic treatment. This will allow us to correct problems that include bad bites, poor alignment of the teeth, or any spacing issues. Treating these problems at an early age is optimal because orthodontic problems don’t fix themselves over time – they just become worse. If left untreated over time bad bites can even lead to irregular wear and tear on the teeth which can be irreversible.
Benefits of Adolescent Orthodontic Treatment
Undergoing orthodontic treatment as an adolescent provides many great benefits that include the following:
- Because a teenager’s jaw and face will still be developing, we can use that growth to our advantage in treating various orthodontic problems.
- There’s also no negative stigma when children of this age wear braces since many of their peers will also be undergoing orthodontic treatment.
Our Orthodontic Treatment Options
The first thing we’ll do when you visit our Lafayette and Youngsville, LA office is take pictures and x-rays of your mouth. In some cases, we may even make a model out of your bite. We use all this information so that we can craft an orthodontic treatment that will best suit your needs. The orthodontic treatments that we’ll select from include:
Metal Braces – This is the most popular form of orthodontic treatment – and for a good reason! Metal braces are a time-tested method of straightening a smile as they’re very effective and economical as well. While metal braces have been unpleasant to look at in the past, modern metal braces are now smaller and more attractive than ever.
Clear Braces – Clear braces offer a similar treatment when compared to metal braces, but there’s one vital difference between the two – the brackets are made of a clear, ceramic material. This allows a patient to have a much more discreet orthodontic treatment. If you’re nervous about what you’d look like while wearing braces, clear braces offer you a more attractive option.
Invisalign – Instead of utilizing brackets and wires like braces do, Invisalign uses clear, plastic aligners to straighten teeth. This allows a patient to have the most discreet orthodontic treatment possible as most other people won’t even notice the aligners. Unlike other orthodontic treatments, Invisalign’s aligners can be removed. They only need to be worn for about 22 hours a day, which means that you can take them out for eating, brushing your teeth, or special occasions.
How Long Will the Treatment Last?
We can’t really answer this question as it will vary from patient to patient depending on the severity of the orthodontic problem and the treatment type. Generally, the active stage of orthodontic treatment will last somewhere from between six to 30 months. After the treatment is completed, you’ll then need to wear a retainer for an indefinite length of time to make sure that your teeth don’t shift back into misalignment.
Visit Your Lafayette and Youngsville, LA Orthodontist!
If you’re interested in any of our orthodontic treatments, such as braces or Invisalign, for yourself or your child, feel free to give us a call at (337) 988-2025. Alternatively, you can schedule an appointment with us by filling out our online appointment request form. We hope to see you soon!