Rumor Refutation: Pay Attention to Dental Health NO.1

Rumor 1: Orthodontic treatment should be done as early as possible, and the earlier the correction, the better the result.

✔/✗: Partially correct, partially incorrect.

Orthodontic treatment should indeed be initiated early, but not necessarily as soon as possible. The period from 7 to 12 years old is a crucial stage for early intervention, during which the growth potential of teeth and jaws can be fully utilized to correct dental and jaw malformations.

Therefore, all children should undergo an initial consultation with an orthodontist at age 7 to check for dental anomalies such as impacted teeth, supernumerary teeth, and congenitally missing teeth. For certain specific malformations, such as skeletal Class III malocclusion (anterior crossbite) and mesio-inclined lingual occlusion, orthodontic treatment may begin as early as age 5.

However, in clinical practice, it is often observed that some 2-year-olds undergo orthodontic treatment, which falls into the category of overcorrection. The true golden period for orthodontic treatment is from 12 to 18 years old, during which almost all dental malformations can be comprehensively corrected.

At this stage, the side effects of orthodontic treatment are minimal, the treatment duration is shortest, and the results are optimal.