Parents’ Questions About Pediatric Interceptive Orthodontics
It seems parents always want to know by the time their children are toddlers if they will need orthodontics in the future. Maybe it’s to plan ahead financially, or maybe they’re just curious if their child will need braces. The best thing about being a family or pediatric dentist is that you get to follow your young patients’ dental journeys from toddlerhood to teenage years (or older!) and witness their oral health progress.
Orthodontics is an oral health topic that is relevant to nearly all children and is an important contributor to their dental health remaining in top shape. Orthodontics helps straighten teeth, but it also does so much more. It is beneficial for patients’ airway and sleeping patterns and helps them feel confident and proud of their smiles.
When you recommend orthodontics as a general or pediatric dentist, it is much more likely your patients will go through with interceptive orthodontics, which is the earlier stage of orthodontics in the mixed dentition. Why is there more follow-through when young patients receive this care from their general or pediatric dentists?
There is much comfort and trust between long-term patients (and the patients’ parents) and their dentists, and this provides the sense of a dental home.
Your patients trust in you.
As your young patients’ primary dental provider, patients and parents both feel a sense of loyalty and trust. After the age of 2, dentists are the most frequently seen health care provider for both children and adults. Aside from biyearly preventive care, patients may have to see the dentist for other dental treatments like restorative or orthodontic needs.
When an entire family visits you for many years, they put trust in your knowledge and opinions to safely provide dental care. Recommending interceptive orthodontics is an important treatment that can correct simple spacing issues early on to avoid more challenging orthodontics in the future.
Patients are sometimes apprehensive of getting opinions from other dental providers out of worry that those providers will be too aggressive with treatment or give wrong advice for financial gain. You can put your patients’ worries at rest by being a consistent figure in their oral health care.
Your patients know you are there for them.
When you are a patient’s dentist before and after orthodontic treatment, they understand you will be there to address any needs. If they have any discomfort or concerns, you are only a quick visit or phone call away. Following care, if patients need to reach out for retention issues, they know they can always ask at their next recall visit.
Parents feel comfortable having their child’s dentist provide pediatric orthodontics because the dentist is there to counsel them on any concerns and expectations prior to treatment. Interceptive orthodontics is an important part of a person’s orthodontic journey, and it begins the process to create a healthy, straight smile.
Your patients know you have their best interests at heart.
Some parents become weary when orthodontics is recommended and a patient has several primary teeth left. They cannot understand why braces shouldn’t wait until all permanent teeth have erupted. As a general or pediatric dentist, you will learn in Dr. Brad Williams’s general dentist orthodontic course that the active growth phase is a vital part of orthodontics. Correcting malocclusion like crossbites early on can help patients avoid extractions of permanent teeth in the future.
You’re there to educate and guide your patients to when and if interceptive orthodontics is needed. It can be overwhelming for patients to change offices, arrange insurance, and know if another provider is the best fit for them. Offering interceptive orthodontics for your patients helps them avoid all of these stresses and delivers the comprehensive, necessary treatment your young patients need.
Your patients appreciate that you offer them comprehensive care.
Patients don’t always like being referred for consults in different locations. Time restraints often cause missed or late dental appointments for established patients. Can you imagine trying to send a patient to another orthodontic provider for only a consultation?
Offering interceptive orthodontics is one of the best ways to keep patients’ treatment all under one roof. It avoids hassling patients with finding a new office or delaying necessary treatment that may cause impacted teeth, self-esteem issues, bite problems, or trauma to protruding teeth.
Comprehensive treatment in one office is a benefit to many patients because all of their families’ dental needs are met from a single provider. Practicing pediatric orthodontics shows you take the time to specialize in all areas of dentistry and invest in your patients. There is no greater feeling than seeing a young dental patient transition in their dental journey and feel more confident in their smile. Existing patients are more likely to receive interceptive orthodontics because they trust your judgment and skills.
Williams GP Orthodontic Seminars can start you on your orthodontic journey.
If you are considering taking a continuing education course in orthodontics so you can further support your patients’ oral health, Dr. Brad Williams’s Basic Straight Wire Orthodontics Course can teach you how to treat up to 80% of the orthodontic cases that present at your practice. Dr. Brad offers a range of courses that include hands-on practice and mentoring. Get started with orthodontics today.
