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Children’s Orthodontics vs Adult Orthodontics:
Children and adults have different needs when it comes to orthodontic treatment. That's actually one of the reasons Dr. Majznerski was one of the first orthodontists in Michigan to accomodate two orthodontic offices in one space: One orthodontic office for kids and one orthodontic office for adults.
While both groups may have issues with their teeth that look similar, adults usually require more advanced treatment than what children need. Adults may need to correct the alignment of their teeth to improve their appearance or speech, as well as treat other issues that may be affecting their health. However, children require a different manner of approaching teeth and bite issues which has to be taken into account. This is the whole reason we have two offices: to give the best and most precise care we can as we focus on children at one office and adults at the other. Your particular needs are important to how we treat your teeth.
The biggest difference is obvious. Adults have fully developed teeth and jaws. Children are growing and maturing year after year until adulthood. So, clearly, adult orthodontics is the branch that focuses on correcting malocclusions (literally “bad bite”) in adults. It also focuses on preventing or treating dental health issues that may be caused by malocclusions. Malocclusions are the misalignment of teeth that may cause problems such as pain, tooth decay, or abnormal wear. These problems can be prevented or corrected with orthodontic treatment. Adult orthodontic treatment may include braces, Invisalign, or certain dental appliances.
Children’s orthodontics is the branch that focuses on treating misalignment and tooth crowding in children. The goal of children’s orthodontics is to correct malocclusions before they cause any long-term damage to the child’s teeth or gums. Children who have significant tooth misalignment or teeth that are growing in crooked have treatment options tailored specifically to not only their particular case, but also their stage of development.
Most people don’t realize that there is a significant difference between the treatment options available for children and adults. The biggest difference between these two branches of orthodontics is that children’s orthodontics is preventive while adult orthodontics is restorative. That is a really important distinction. Children’s orthodontics is preventive because it aims to correct the alignment of a child’s teeth before those misalignments become much more difficult to treat. It’s kind of like treatment on the run because we’re treating as teeth come in and as the jaw bones grow and develop.
If untreated, the misalignment has become fixed. That means a patient has hit a stage of maturity in which he or she isn’t growing anymore and the only way to correct it is through restorative procedures. That means we’re restoring the teeth and jaw to a precise position. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to begin children’s orthodontics as early as possible. The earlier a child begins orthodontic treatment, the less likely they are to experience long-term dental problems. Children’s orthodontics is also preventive because it is much easier to treat a child’s misaligned teeth than an adult’s misaligned teeth.
Bottom line
The awesome news is that no matter what stage of life you or your loved one is in, we’ve got an option for you. More specifically, we’ve got an office for you! Each of our offices, one for adults and one for children, are geared toward each the preventative or restorative procedures you’re looking for. No matter whether you’re an adult or a child patient, we’ve got you covered. It’s what we do!
