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The Differences Between Adult and Children’s Orthodontic Treatments

When you’re looking for Oak Forest orthodontics, we at Sonneveld Orthodontics are here to go above and beyond in providing you the best orthodontic care around. We’re glad to provide quality orthodontic treatments for patients of all ages in our comfortable and family-friendly Oak Forest office. Whether you’re an adult or a child, you’re always welcome here at Sonneveld Orthodontics! While orthodontic treatment is suitable for patients of any age, there happen to be a few differences between adult and children’s orthodontic treatment.

Physiological Differences

Between adults and children, there are physical anatomy differences that affect orthodontic treatment. For adults, the upper jaw is one large bone, but in children, the upper jaw starts out divided into two separate halves. During adolescence, the two halves fuse together. This allows the Sonneveld Orthodontics team to perform specific kinds of treatment on children more easily. As the jaw is more malleable during this time, your orthodontist can influence the growth of the jaw for optimal treatment results. This allows us to treat issues like crowding and crossbite with the use of extraction or oral surgery.

With adult orthodontic treatment your orthodontist needs to ensure any sign of gingivitis is entirely treated before starting treatment, and adult patients need to be monitored closely for signs of resorption of the root of the teeth. 

Psychological Differences

Adults do have some advantages when getting orthodontic treatment. First, many adults have already had orthodontic treatment, or if they haven’t, their bites are healthy to start out with. This means treatment needed for adults is usually simple, making for a faster, more convenient, and more comfortable treatment process.

Second, adults are generally more compliant when it comes to medical treatment. Adults are usually more diligent about wearing their Invisalign aligners, keeping up a good oral hygiene regimen, and wearing a retainer as prescribed after treatment. Adult patients often achieve excellent outcomes from their orthodontic treatment.

Visit Our Orthodontics Office Near Oak Forest

If you’re interested in setting up an orthodontic appointment for yourself or your child, we encourage you to give us a call at (708) 403-2626. Alternatively, you can fill out our appointment request form. We’re looking forward to seeing you or your child!