What Happens During an Orthodontic Consultation
Your child’s orthodontic consultation in Kaysville begins with a friendly conversation. We will ask about any concerns you’ve noticed—maybe teeth coming in crooked, difficulty chewing, or jaw clicking. We’ll also want to know about habits like thumb sucking or mouth breathing that can affect development. This background information helps them understand the full picture before examining your child’s mouth.
The clinical examination comes next. We look at how teeth fit together when your child bites down, check for crowding or spacing issues, and evaluate jaw alignment. We’re watching how the upper and lower teeth meet from multiple angles and assessing whether there’s enough room for permanent teeth still waiting to erupt. This hands-on evaluation reveals things that aren’t always obvious to parents but significantly impact treatment planning.
Diagnostic records give us even more detailed information. We typically take photographs of your child’s face and smile from different angles, digital X-rays that show tooth positions and jaw structure, and sometimes digital scans of the teeth themselves. These records let us analyze your child’s case thoroughly and track changes over time if we’re monitoring growth before starting treatment.
Understanding Your Child’s Needs
After gathering all this information, we sit down together to discuss what we found. We use visual aids and plain language to explain any alignment or bite issues. We’ll show you exactly what they’re seeing in your child’s mouth and help you understand how these issues might progress if left untreated. Some problems worsen over time, while others remain stable—knowing the difference matters when deciding whether to move forward with treatment now or wait.
Not every child who comes in for an orthodontic consultation needs immediate treatment. Sometimes the best recommendation is to monitor growth and development for a year or two before intervening. We’ll tell you honestly if your child falls into this category and explain what we’re watching for during that monitoring period.
What We Evaluate
- Tooth alignment: Checking for crowding, spacing, or rotated teeth
- Bite relationship: How upper and lower teeth fit together functionally
- Jaw growth: Whether jaws are developing proportionally and symmetrically
- Facial balance: How tooth and jaw positions affect overall appearance
- Airway concerns: Signs that alignment issues might affect breathing
- Oral habits: Behaviors that could be influencing dental development
Exploring Treatment Options
When treatment is recommended, we present your options clearly. We explain the pros and cons of different approaches—traditional braces, ceramic braces, or clear aligners if appropriate for your child’s case. We’ll discuss how long treatment typically takes for cases like your child’s, what the process involves, and what kind of results you can expect.
Cost is obviously an important factor for families, and we address it upfront during your orthodontic consultation. Our team breaks down total treatment costs and walks you through payment plans that make orthodontic care manageable. We work with most insurance plans and help you maximize your benefits. There’s never pressure to decide immediately—we want you to go home, discuss it as a family, and come back with questions if needed.
Questions You Should Ask
We encourage parents to come prepared with questions, but we also understand you might not know what to ask. Here are some topics worth discussing during your consultation: How urgently does treatment need to start? What happens if we wait? Are there risks associated with different treatment options? How often will appointments happen, and how long do they typically take? What’s involved in caring for braces or aligners at home?
We prefer it when families ask detailed questions because it shows they’re engaged in the process. The more you understand about your child’s specific situation, the more confident you’ll feel moving forward.
Early Consultations Catch Problems Sooner
Many parents wait until all permanent teeth have erupted to seek an orthodontic consultation, but earlier evaluation often identifies issues that respond better to timely intervention. By age seven, enough permanent teeth have come in that we can spot developing problems. Addressing these issues during the growth phase can prevent the need for more extensive treatments later, such as tooth extractions or jaw surgery.
Even if your child doesn’t need treatment now, establishing a relationship with an orthodontist means that someone will be consistently monitoring their development. We’ll see your child periodically to track growth and determine the optimal time to begin treatment, if necessary.
The First Step: Orthodontic Consultation in Kaysville
The most challenging part of any orthodontic journey is scheduling the initial consultation. Once you’re here, families consistently tell us they wish they’d come in sooner. The unknowns create more anxiety than the actual visit, which usually feels more like a conversation than a medical appointment. Your child will leave with a better understanding of their own teeth, and you’ll have the information needed to make thoughtful decisions about their care.
Contact Kaysville Pediatric Dental & Orthodontics today to schedule an orthodontic consultation with Dr. Jones. There’s no obligation, no pressure—just honest answers and expert guidance. Call now to find an appointment time that works for your family!