Adolescent Treatment

Get Your Teenager Started on a Beautiful Smile!

Throughout the Birmingham area, parents trust the experts at PT Ortho to help their children achieve beautifully straight teeth. Our offices in Adamsville, Cahaba Heights, Gadsden, Gardendale, Hoover, Hueytown, Jasper, Leeds, Mountain Brook, Oxford, Pell City, Trussville, and Tuscaloosa are committed to helping families like yours get the smile you deserve.are committed to helping families like yours get the smile you deserve.

While we recommend that your child have their first exam much earlier, most kids begin treatment as teens. At this age, their jaw and mouth are fully developed, but are still relatively easy to shift and move. While treatment is possible later, this is the ideal time for orthodontic treatment, and the results speak for themselves!

There’s even a social element to getting orthodontic treatment in adolescence. If you need braces, you’re not alone! Chances are you’ll see some of your classmates in our office, and you may even make new friends as you go through the process together. When it’s done, you’ll have a smile that you can really be proud of and benefits that will last your whole life.

The Benefits of Teen Orthodontic Care

Braces are seen as a rite of passage for many teenagers. This is a great time to start, as teens will see their friends getting braces as well.

By age 12, most, if not all, of your child’s permanent teeth have fully erupted, meaning they have also lost their baby teeth and the spacing won’t need to change to accommodate new teeth. Crooked teeth, bad bites and gaps are easy to identify at this stage and a diagnosis from our orthodontic specialists will be made quickly and easily.

During this time, the jaw has almost finished forming, as no major changes are likely, but the movement of teeth by braces or other appliances may be easier. This is often the ideal time to adjust the spacing and alignment of teeth, and their positions are still fairly malleable compared to later in life.

Treatment Options for Teens

There are a number of appliances and types of braces available for your teenager and the PT Orthodontics team will help you choose the style that best fits your needs. Depending on what adjustments need to be made, your preferences, and the doctor’s diagnosis, we will build a treatment plan specifically for your situation. Be sure to ask about the treatment plans you’re interested in to find out whether they will work for you!

  • Invisalign Teen
  • Traditional Metal Braces
  • Ceramic or Clear Braces
  • Lingual Braces

Each style has its own benefits and our team will help you understand which options will work best for your child.

metal-bracesMetal Braces are probably the most common style, and you’ve likely seen them before on friends or family members. The latest advancements have made this traditional bracket smaller and lighter than ever before, meaning they are also more comfortable to wear! Customize your braces with multi-colored bands and show off your style!

clear-bracesClear Braces are incredibly similar to metal braces, but are made from ceramic and other composite materials that make them nearly invisible under most conditions. They offer the same treatment benefits as metal braces but with a more subtle look. Be sure to ask us if clear braces are a good fit for you!

clear-alignersClear Aligners are a popular option because you can remove them to eat, drink, or brush your teeth. They come as a set of trays which must be worn at least 22 hours per day, and each tray moves your teeth slightly further than the last one until they reach their ideal alignment. With new features and great results, we are excited to offer clear aligners as a teen treatment option!

lingual-bracesLingual Braces offer the most invisible form of orthodontic treatment because unlike metal or clear braces they are attached to the back of your teeth. Lingual braces have proven to offer amazing results, so if you’re curious about having completely invisible care, ask us for more information about the lingual braces option!

Other orthodontic appliances may be recommended in some cases, where major tooth or jaw movement is needed. They can range from small devices that fit inside the mouth to external headgear. But don’t worry: You’ll get used to them, and they’re temporary — but they provide a long-term benefit in a short time. Typically, orthodontic treatment lasts between as little as six months, or up to thirty for more complex cases. Once your treatment is complete, we will create a retainer to help hold your teeth in their new positions, which you will wear for at least a few months. In the end, the new smile we’ve helped you create will be yours to show off for a lifetime!