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Early Treatment
A free Observation Program that watches your child's growth from age 6, plus the evaluations, expanders and interceptive care that only get used when the timing genuinely calls for them.
Chapter 01
Watching starts years before treating does
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a child's first orthodontic check-up no later than age 7, and that first visit here is free. Most seven-year-olds are not ready for active treatment yet. What they are ready for is someone keeping an eye on how their jaw and teeth are coming in.
That is what the free Observation Program does. From age 6, your child is checked every six months at no charge and with no obligation to start anything. The point is to let growth decide the timing, rather than a calendar or a sales pitch.
A treatment room at Becker Orthodontics, set up for a child's growth and development visit
What Growth & Development actually covers
Early Orthodontic Evaluation is that same free first visit. Dental Development Monitoring is the recurring check that follows it, watching how permanent teeth are coming in behind the baby teeth.
If a visit shows something that genuinely needs early attention, that is where interceptive Phase 1 treatment comes in, typically for children ages 6 to 9. Palatal expanders widen a narrow upper jaw, typically for children ages 7 to 11, and a space maintainer holds open the gap left by an early lost baby tooth so the permanent tooth still has room to come in where it belongs.
Chapter 03
None of it happens before it needs to
Every one of those tools, the expander, the space maintainer, Phase 1 treatment, only gets used when a specific problem shows up on a specific visit. Most kids in the Observation Program are simply watched, visit after visit, until they are ready for braces or aligners on their own timeline.
If it has been a while since your child's teeth were looked at, or they are approaching age 7 and have not had a first visit yet, call either office and get them on the schedule. There is no charge for the visit and nothing to sign up for beyond it.
Becker Orthodontics: the free first evaluation and the Observation Program carry no obligation to start anything. Call (610) 935-1547.