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Bandeen Orthodontics of Three Rivers will only recommend early treatment when it is necessary

Early orthodontic treatment is treatment where there are still baby teeth present.

There are three reasons to have early treatment:

  1. Extreme Self-consciousness: Someone is too self-conscious to wait
  2. Emergencies: There will be pain or damage unless we change something
  3. Airway Concerns: We see kids who have sleep apnea or concerns due to narrowness of their airway. Many kids with sleep apnea have normal size mouths but with large tonsils and adenoids. Other kids have small mouths and can see an improvement in their airway by making their mouths bigger. Either way, kids with airway concerns can often benefit both from orthodontics to widen their airway as well as an evaluation with their family doctor or an Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor (ENT) to see if there is something blocking their airway.

On this page you will find case studies with before and after photos of early treatment photos. It’s important to note that these images are not stock photos, these are actual before and after photos of patients who have received early treatment at Bandeen Orthodontics of Battle Creek.

Phase I Treatment

These patients had “early treatment” which is treatment when baby teeth are still present.  Many patients who have “early treatment” will have two phases of treatment, so “early treatment” is also commonly called “phase one treatment (to imply that there will be a “phase two” of treatment later once the remaining permanent teeth have erupted.   Typically, phase done treatment is limited to situations of (1) extreme self-consciousness (2) emergencies where pain or damage will result without treatment or (3) airway concerns like sleep apnea.