Since 1993

ORTHODONTICS > Growth and Development

Growth and Development

Pediatricians monitor and record your child’s height and weight using a growth chart like this one. This is how they tell you what growth percentile a child falls into.

Pediatric Growth Charts

Our orthodontists also monitor your child’s physical growth and development. What sets us apart from many offices is that we firmly believe in custom timing treatment at the appropriate time during a child’s growth stages to maximize results.  Every child has their own individual growth timing and pace and orthodontic problem. We believe it is important to recognize that and use a science-based approach to take the best care of your family members. We have developed a system to keep track of each patient’s development and their unique growth pattern.  

It is not surprising that there is a close relation to the overall body’s growth and the growth of the face and jaws. It is for this reason; orthodontic treatment timing is very important to maximize the benefits for your child. 

We are experts on tooth movement and the most knowledgeable dental professionals to monitor and treat dental alignment and the growth of the face and jaws. We are orthodontists and dentofacial orthopedic specialists.  Your general dentist understands teeth but does not have the added training that we do. You can trust our additional education and over 30 years of clinical experience in our office to be able to tackle simple and complex problems.  

INCREMENT CURVES FOR MALES AND FEMALES (HEIGHT)

Just like the graphic shows peaks and average timing for growth spurts during puberty for a child, the jaws have peaks and times of maximum growth too. 

The two best times for orthodontic treatment in general for growing kids and teens is between 6-9 years old and adolescence through puberty. Phase I and Phase II are terms orthodontists and pediatric dentists use to talk about orthodontic treatment timing. Phase I refers to that optimal 6 to 9 year old time and Phase II refers to adolescence through puberty. There are situations where your child may be able to avoid a Phase I treatment and wait to do treatment in the time from adolescence through puberty. If this is the case that would be referred to as full treatment. 

The more serious the problems, the more likely your child will need both a Phase I and II treatment.  During your routine dental visits at our office, Growth Assessments will be incorporated and you will be updated to how your child’s face is growing. 

PEAK VELOCITY CURVES FOR MALES AND FEMALES (LOWER JAW)

Here are a few quick examples of how we can modify growth imbalances during a child’s development.  

boy growth and development comparison

All three of the boys on the left are 8th grade friends but exhibit very different growth patterns and timing. This is a great example of why we cannot treat everyone the same or at any particular age. Treatment should be customized to the individual. With our 3D X-ray technology, we can analyze each child’s growth and predict the optimal time to start treatment. Typical phase one is best between ages 6-9.  

child growth and development

Image 1 shows a girl with a very deficient lower jaw. Between Image 1 and 2, we took advantage of her growth spurt in elementary school with Phase I orthodontic treatment to modify or enhance the growth of her lower jaw. Between Image 2 and 3 we completed Phase II treatment to continue enhancing the lower jaw growth as she was going through her puberty growth spurt. Her profile and smile greatly benefited from a two-phase growth modification approach to treatment.