The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children be examined by an orthodontist at age 7. Normally, Dr. Wing will recommend no treatment at this age but place the child in an observation program to monitor the eruption of the permanent teeth every 6 months. In some circumstances, however, it is necessary to undergo a limited Phase I treatment with some of the primary teeth still present. Some of these instances include severe crowding with no space for permanent teeth to erupt, jaw size discrepancies, and severe overbites or underbites.
Phase II treatment begins when all of the permanent teeth have erupted. The purpose of phase II is to align the remaining permanent teeth that have erupted since the end of Phase I, as well as to correct the bite. Bite correction typically involves wearing elastics from lower braces to upper braces in a certain configuration as Dr. Wing prescribes. The duration of Phase II is typically shorter than an average orthodontic treatment because Phase I aligned the front teeth and created space for the back permanent teeth to erupt.