With summer vacation right around the corner, orthodontic treatment for students is at its peak. Children and adolescents who wish to have their teeth straightened mostly come because of problems such as crowded teeth alignment, buck teeth, and ingrown teeth. Because of the long summer vacation, many parents hope that children during this period for orthodontic treatment is more appropriate, one summer vacation wearing braces, the child can rest at home, not delaying school; secondly, just wear braces, the initial discomfort may be, at home can take care of meals. According to Professor Lin Xinping, director of the Orthodontic Academic Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine and director of Hangzhou Dental Boyi Orthodontic Center, many students currently have malocclusion in their mouths, at least 70% of students need orthodontic treatment, while parents and students are full of misconceptions about orthodontics. Myth 1: orthodontics must wait until the age of 12 Many parents believe that when the child has changed the milk teeth, permanent teeth are out, especially after the age of 12 is the best period of orthodontics. Professor Lin Xinping said that this statement is not entirely correct, if a generalization, often make many people miss the best orthodontic timing, and increase the difficulty of orthodontic treatment. From the age of half a year after the emergence of milk teeth, to about two and a half years of age milk teeth full. By the age of 6-7 years, the baby teeth are replaced with permanent teeth, which continues until the age of about 12 years, when the permanent teeth are fully grown. At this time, the orthodontist can have a clear picture of the position of each tooth, so it is convenient to design an orthodontic plan, so about 50-60% of the children in the clinic are orthodontic after the age of 12. Professor Lin Xinping offers advice: If in the process of milk teeth → tooth replacement → permanent teeth, when there is a problem in the child’s mouth, for example, the ground or whistling teeth, but can not wait until the age of 12 to deal with. Because of the poor growth environment, it may deteriorate with age, and the upper and lower jaws wait until they are set, then orthodontic treatment is very difficult to deal with. Besides, diastema or whistling teeth are likely to have a negative psychological impact on the child and should be orthodontically treated as early as possible. There are also many cases of critical extraction orthodontics, and if orthodontics is done early, it is possible to achieve the desired effect using no extraction orthodontics. Myth 2: teeth will loosen after orthodontics “My child’s mouth of teeth is really uneven, to a hospital consultation, the doctor said that the upper and lower two teeth to be extracted and then corrected, I think it must be very painful for the child, and again after extraction may be too thin, the teeth may not be the original firm, easy to loosen.” Ms. Wang is because she has such thoughts, reluctant to take her child to the hospital orthodontic. Professor Lin Xinping offers advice: orthodontics is to move the teeth to the right position, according to the alveolar bone and periodontal renewal cycle, the teeth move at a rate of about 1mm / month, the teeth slightly loose in the process, but move to the destination three months later, will be fully restored to the degree of stability before treatment. If orthodontics would cause teeth to loosen, this technology would not be able to carry on, so parents do not have to worry at all that after orthodontics, the teeth will be loose and unstable. Professor Lin Xinping reminds: children who must be extracted for orthodontic treatment will often lose more than they gain if they take orthodontic treatment without extracting their teeth, which will affect their facial beauty and dental health. For those who require orthodontic treatment because of crowded or protruding teeth, tooth extraction can create space for crowded teeth or teeth that are inwardly protruding. This is like a road where only 10 people can stand, and due to a reduction in space or an increase in people, and the requirement for a neat queue, the number of people will have to be reduced. However, it is reassuring to know that the orthodontic process will gradually close all the gaps of extracted teeth and no subsequent veneers are required. Myth 3: orthodontic treatment requires tooth extraction Ms. Xiao took her daughter to the hospital to consult about orthodontic treatment, the doctor looked at the child’s oral condition and suggested that the child should first have four teeth extracted (two each up and down). Once you hear that four teeth have to be pulled, the mother began to be distressed, saying that it was “unbearable”, so the daughter orthodontic thing is delayed again and again. Professor Lin Xinping’s advice: fear of tooth extraction is also a relatively common clinical phenomenon. As soon as parents hear that their children will be extracted, they immediately do not consider orthodontics. In fact, the issue of whether orthodontic treatment requires tooth extraction is a topic that has been discussed in the industry. The doctor will adhere to the principle of trying not to extract teeth to develop an orthodontic plan. For example, if the teeth are mildly crowded, or if there are gaps, extraction is not necessary. Only about 60 percent of patients clinically require orthodontic treatment. Myth 4: Orthodontic treatment must be painful Some people put on the braces and say, “If I had known it was so painful, I would not have done it,” and others say, “How can I not feel it, did the doctor not put on the braces properly?” Professor Lin Xinping offers advice: Everyone feels different after wearing braces. After wearing braces, there is a possibility of discomfort, such as pain, swelling, discomfort of biting, etc., and most of these feelings occur during the first orthodontic treatment. “The most uncomfortable is the first three days, after wearing it for a long time, you will slowly get used to it”. Professor Lin Xinping said, “So far, we have not encountered any cases of wearing braces and asking for removal because of pain.” Whether it hurts or not varies from person to person and can also be related to the doctor’s experience. In general, children and teens don’t feel as strongly as adults after wearing braces. Therefore, it is better to deal with braces before it is too late. Prof. Lin Xinping suggests that parents should also pay attention to several issues when choosing an orthodontist: how to look at orthodontic promotions When summer vacation arrives, many hospitals and clinics will have many promotional and marketing strategies, such as free orthodontic treatment or various discounts. Of course, for parents, the cheaper the better, preferably for free, but remember: free lunches are rare. Hospitals and clinics advertise for all kinds of purposes, some mainly to attract patients; some to make profits with patients; some just to make sales, will raise the price a bit, and then give free some design fees or other fees, in general there is no discount, just like a mall sale discount. Therefore, parents need to think independently and do more comparisons to avoid falling into the trap of discounts. The doctor’s skill is as important as the service Some parents arrive at the doctor’s side, the doctor’s attitude is particularly good, of course, this is what we should advocate, but some doctors in order to get you treated on his side, he completely listen to you, you say do not pull teeth orthodontic treatment, he will not pull teeth orthodontic treatment. Some of them promise a lot, but when they do not achieve the results you want to expect, you not only lose money and energy, but more importantly, you miss the best orthodontic time. This happens to me all the time in my practice. One patient’s parents wanted me to give her child orthodontic treatment without extracting teeth, and I judged after measurement analysis and facial aesthetic morphology, it must be necessary to extract teeth orthodontic treatment, but the result came to a certain doctor’s side to give the child orthodontic treatment without extracting teeth, but still very happy that a doctor can give orthodontic treatment. She ended up regretting that she didn’t listen to me at the time. Therefore, when you meet a “passionate” doctor, you need to know more about his medical skills and ethics. The cost of orthodontic treatment is not the cheaper the better, and certainly not the more expensive the better Some parents find that the cost of orthodontic treatment varies greatly from hospital to hospital or clinic, as little as a few thousand to tens of thousands, it is difficult to determine which choice is the right one, which is as difficult as choosing a company for your own home renovation. However, parents still consider the cost of your orthodontic treatment in terms of the level of the doctor, his clinical experience, his reputation, the choice of aligners, the grade and environment of the hospital and clinic, and the service you receive. In short, it is still a question of cost effectiveness. Only by comparing you will know the cost of orthodontic treatment cost effective.