Orthodontic info
Why did the orthodontist say my child should wait when other children the same age already have braces?
The start of orthodontic treatment depends on the type of problem a child has or may be developing and on the child's stage of dental development, not on a single right age, according to the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), so two children the same age can be on different plans.
On this page
Asked why a friend's child has started treatment while another child is told to wait, the AAO's answer begins "Each treatment plan is specific for that child" and goes on to say "Children mature at different stages" before leaving the type of treatment and its timing to the orthodontist.
Many orthodontic problems are best treated after more permanent teeth have come in, the AAO says, while others may benefit from attention earlier, which is why what your child's exam found matters more than what a classmate's orthodontist decided.
A friend has braces and your child was asked to come back later
Being asked to come back is a frequent result of an early visit: the AAO says many children who see an orthodontist at an early age do not need treatment right away, and only a few orthodontic problems need correction while a child has baby teeth.
Resist measuring your child's plan against the friend's, since the AAO says "There is no single age when every child should get braces" and the friend's plan was made for the friend's teeth, bite and growth.
The return visit itself is where you can ask which teeth, or which stage of growth, the orthodontist is waiting for.
The orthodontist found something and chose to watch it
Watching is a plan in its own right: the AAO says that when a problem is detected, chances are the orthodontist will take a "wait-and-see" approach and check growth and development periodically, so treatment can be timed to take advantage of predictable stages of growth.
Carvalho & Roth Orthodontics describes the same approach on its own pages: if treatment is not yet necessary, the practice may recommend monitoring until the timing is more appropriate, with periodic growth and development check-ups that follow changes in the bite and tooth eruption.
Letting those check-ups lapse undoes the plan, because the decision to start is made again at each one. We found no AAO list of signs that move a watched child into treatment in its consumer FAQ or its pages on children's orthodontics; the AAO ties timing to the type of problem and the stage of dental development, so ask the orthodontist what would change the plan.
Keep the next check-up on the calendar; how far apart those visits fall is set at the exam.
The exam found nothing to treat at this time
An early exam can end with no treatment expected: the AAO says an evaluation may show that no orthodontic treatment is expected to be necessary, and a finding that no treatment is required is one of the results the practice's early-treatment page lists for an initial consultation.
Reading that result as final goes too far, because the AAO's wording is that no problems are present "at this time".
Call if something new about your child's teeth, bite or jaw starts to worry you; the AAO says a parent with that kind of concern does not have to wait for a referral to contact an orthodontist.
Timing is the orthodontist's call, made again at each visit
The start of treatment is decided at the exam and revisited at each check-up, not set by a birthday or by what friends are doing; the AAO leaves the type of treatment and its timing to the orthodontist.
Why the AAO recommends an early first check-up is covered on the practice's page about early orthodontic treatment, what the first consultation includes is set out separately, and whether a second phase may follow is the question the post One Phase or Two? takes up.
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