For kids between the ages of 7 and 10, early orthodontic evaluation is all about timing. We take a conservative, observation-first approach to early care. Our goal is to guide children’s development with clarity, catch problems early if they arise, and build a foundation for healthy, confident smiles later on.
Your journey begins with a comprehensive consultation where our treatment coordinator gathers digital scans, photos, and bite records to evaluate your child’s unique smile and facial structure. Dr. Santucci personally reviews this information to assess airway health, jaw and bone development, and overall facial balance before considering tooth alignment. By focusing on proper growth and breathing first, he ensures that orthodontic treatment supports long-term function, facial harmony, and a foundation for a healthy, confident smile.
Using our proprietary ten-point framework, The Santucci Smile, we determine the best next steps for your child—whether that means early treatment with braces, aligners, or a gentle appliance like a rapid palatal expander, or simply continued observation until the timing is right. You’ll review visual models that clearly outline the plan, making it easy to understand how each step supports healthy, natural growth.
If your child isn’t ready for treatment yet, we’ll place them in our observation program to monitor their development and begin Phase 1 only when it’s truly needed.
For Phase 1 treatment, we won’t address every element of the Santucci Smile—that comes later in Phase 2 as growth and development progress. Phase 1 treatment will focus on:
We use gentle appliances like rapid palatal expanders (RPEs), face masks, and braces to support airway function and natural lip posture. These treatments guide jaw width and forward growth, improve breathing, and create better facial balance—all while helping the lips rest comfortably and the smile develop in harmony with your child’s growth.
If your child’s front teeth are crowded, spaced, or rotated, we may use gentle braces or clear aligners to guide them into proper position. At the same time, we shape the smile arc—the curve of the upper teeth that follows the lower lip—to create a balanced, expressive look. These early refinements improve tooth contact, bite function, and facial muscle balance as your child grows.
Aligning the smile’s center, or midline, helps maintain facial balance and long-term function. We also assess tongue, lip, and muscle habits—like tongue ties or mouth breathing—that can affect jaw growth and alignment. Addressing these early encourages healthy muscle patterns and allows the face, bite, and airway to develop in harmony over time.
Once Phase 1 treatment is complete, your child moves into our observation phase—where we continue tracking their growth like an architect monitoring the next stage of a build. Through regular check-ins every 6 to 12 months, we review how their jaw, teeth, and airway are developing to ensure everything is progressing according to plan. When it’s time for Phase 2—typically when they’re a teenager—we’ll have the perfect blueprint in place to finalize all the pieces of the Santucci Smile.
