New Smiles for Children, Teens, & Adults
Dr. Funk believes everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy orthodontic care and a stunning straight smile.
At Emily Funk Orthodontics, we’re proud to offer a full range of orthodontic treatments and high-quality care for children, teens, and adults at our Chester Springs office.
Chester Springs Braces, Invisalign, & InBrace
Choose from modern, state-of-the-art fixed and removable orthodontic appliances at Emily Funk Orthodontics, including:
Orthodontics for Children
For some young patients, early intervention can help prevent future dental and skeletal problems. Interceptive Orthodontics — or Phase I Treatment — allows Dr. Funk to help guide your child through healthy dental development.
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends that children visit an orthodontic specialist at age 7. This checkup allows Dr. Funk to screen for certain orthodontic conditions that may warrant intervention.
Why Phase I Treatment?
Waiting too long for orthodontic care can result in a multitude of issues. Whether your child is developing an underbite or overbite, their teeth are growing in the wrong way, or their mouth is just too small, waiting too long to see an orthodontist can result in future issues.
These issues can be both painful and inconvenient in future life — which is why we offer phase one treatment at Emily Funk Orthodontics.
Phase one treatment refers to orthodontic treatment given to children before they hit their teenage years. This preemptive treatment allows Dr. Funk to catch certain issues that may affect both dental and skeletal development.
How Phase I Treatment Works
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends children have their first visit to the orthodontist at age 7. The reason for this is so that we can check how the jaw bones are growing and the adult teeth are developing. In some cases, Dr. Funk will recommend Phase 1 or Early Orthodontic treatment to help direct growth or guide the permanent teeth into place.
Typically, orthodontic treatment with braces, InBrace, or Invisalign begins around age 10-14 when all of the baby teeth are gone, and the permanent teeth have erupted, but some conditions are much easier to treat if caught at an early age while the teeth and bones are still developing.
In most cases, we will simply monitor your child’s growth until we see it’s time for treatment to begin. Some conditions that are best treated early are crossbites, severe crowding, underbite, severe overbite, habits such as thumb sucking, and severe protrusion of the front teeth.
A Proactive Approach to Orthodontic Health
While early intervention can be used to prevent future problems from occurring with your child’s mouth and teeth, Dr. Funk can also use Phase I treatment to fix problems that your child is currently having as well.
Common conditions that Phase I treatment can help correct include:
- Crossbite
- Open bite
- Underbite and overbite
- Finger sucking habits
- Early tooth loss
- Impacted teeth
- Narrow arches
Rather than letting the mouth and teeth develop with these conditions, Phase I treatment takes a proactive approach.
In addition to fixing potential issues that may arise out of these conditions, preemptive treatment like Phase I can help your child be more comfortable as their mouth and teeth continue to develop.
Orthodontics for Teens
Adolescent and teen treatment is our most common course of treatment here at Emily Funk Orthodontics. Conducting adolescent and teen treatment is essential to crafting a beautiful smile.
In addition to your beautiful smile, this treatment allows teens to have well-aligned teeth and jaws, which in turn make it possible to smile, bite, chew, and speak properly.
Participating in this treatment allows Dr. Funk to help your child get the ideal smile and bite, which paves the way for a painless future.
How Does Teen Orthodontics Differ from Phase I?
While Phase I treatment is preemptive in nature, adolescent and teen treatment is active. This means that, when we treat young children, we’re taking action to prevent conditions that can appear as your child ages. In active treatment, we are treating conditions that your child currently has.
Even if your child suffers from an overbite, crossbite, or crooked teeth, it’s never too late to correct that issue with adolescent and teen treatment.
Correcting Bite Issues
If your child hasn’t gone through Phase I treatment, their teeth or jaws may be developing incorrectly.
Not to worry, though — at Emily Funk Orthodontics, our adolescent and teen treatment program is designed to help treat bite and smile issues that weren’t treated in early childhood.
When your child’s teeth or jaws develop incorrectly, this can leave them at risk for future orthodontic issues that can cause discomfort or even deeper medical issues.
Teen Treatments at Emily Funk Orthodontics
Giving your child the gift of a beautiful and healthy smile can improve their oral health and more importantly, their self-confidence.
Orthodontic treatment during the adolescent and teen years allows Dr. Funk to establish a more ideal bite for your child before they reach adulthood.
Dr. Funk believes we all deserve a smile we’re proud of. When meeting with our board-certified orthodontist, she’ll design a personalized treatment plan for your teen to ensure they’re on the best course to their perfect smile.
Treatment for adolescents and teens can include:
- Metal braces
- Ceramic braces
- Invisalign®
- InBrace
Each of these treatments offer their own specific benefits and are able to treat a wide array of conditions. For more information on each of our treatments for adolescents and teens, check out the specific treatment pages!
Adjunctive Treatment for Adults
Dr. Funk is completely committed to your overall periodontal health. That’s why Emily Funk Orthodontics is proud to offer adjunctive treatment to our patients.
Some more severe orthodontic issues require surgical intervention or collaboration with other dental professionals known as adjunctive treatment. In these cases, Dr. Funk works alongside your other providers — typically your dentist — to ensure optimal results.
Adjunctive treatment is beneficial for both your general dentist, Dr. Funk, and — most importantly — you!
What Is Adjunctive Treatment?
Adjunctive treatment is when a secondary treatment works alongside the primary treatment to assist the primary treatment in completing the goal.
To simplify, adjunctive treatment is the process of undergoing two treatments to reach the desired result.
With adjunctive treatment cases, Dr. Funk will work closely with your general dentist or a specialist to create a treatment plan that works for you. At Emily Funk Orthodontics, we typically deal with the following end goals when conducting adjunctive treatments:
- Opening space for a missing tooth
- Improving periodontal health
- Correcting a bite issue
These issues can be corrected by using many of the different options that we offer, such as:
- Palatal expanders
- Metal braces
- Clear braces
- Clear aligners
How Adjunctive Treatment Works
Your general dentist or a specialist will handle the dental aspect of this treatment, so make sure to consult with them to fully understand the length of your treatment.
Regardless of the plan that your dentist has in store for you, Dr. Funk will tailor your orthodontic treatment plan specifically to you, ensuring that you have the best treatment experience possible.
Start With a Free Consultation
Start your journey towards a healthy new smile today and schedule your free consultation with our expert and friendly orthodontist, Dr. Emily Funk.
Visit our Chester Springs office, and we’ll talk about your options and develop an orthodontic treatment plan designed just for you or your child’s needs and smile goals.