Hi, Dr. Jeff Heinz here at Heinz Orthodontics in Rockford and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and today I’m here to talk a little bit about our treatment philosophy.
My philosophy for treating patients has quite a few different layers. First and foremost, when we’re talking about children, I like to be proactive and preventative so that when they’re a little bit older, we have a lot more options to be able to treat them more conservatively and give them beautiful smiles without having to make any sacrifices. So we do use some phase one therapy – or early orthodontics – when kids are in the eight to nine-ish age range. But we also are conservative and only use that when absolutely necessary.
I love to be able to give an eight-year-old kid a high five and say, “See you next year, hopefully, you lose a couple of baby teeth. And we’ll wait for all your permanent teeth to come in.” But sometimes kids in that age range do need a little bit of help. Whether that’s doing something to make a little bit more space or some growth modification, there are a lot of things that we can do to make their lives and their parents’ lives a lot easier when the time for that final set of braces comes, you know when they’re in the 12 to 13-ish age range.
When it comes to our adult patients, I like to give them options. Some of our adult patients like to use braces and want to use braces to give them the smile that they’ve always dreamed of having, maybe because they didn’t have a chance to when they were children. And some of them would like to use aligners to get the job done. Here at Heinz Orthodontics, we give them both options.
Our adult patients come to see me for a variety of reasons. Some have breathing issues, sleep apnea, and those kinds of things. Others just have crooked teeth that they want to fix, while still others have been riddled with dental work their entire life, and are finally ready to be proactive and preventative with their oral care. There’s a big difference between an unhealthy bite and how your teeth come together and function, versus a really healthy solid bite where everything’s functioning off of each other and working in harmony in preventing future dental care.
And last – but certainly not least – are our teenage patients. Falling in the 12 to 18-ish range, these patients are kind of our bread and butter. Those kids are growing up and have a mind of their own and often have a good idea of what they want. Some of them love braces, some of them love aligners. Fortunately, we give them both options here. Some people have the idea that because they have a really significantly crowded bite or a lot of different things going on that they might not be a candidate for clear aligners, like Invisalign, or Spark. But in fact, they are. We pride ourselves on delivering that for our patients and giving them those braces-like results using clear aligners.
Heinz Orthodontics proudly serves the Rockford, Grand Rapids, Greenville, Ada, and Cedar Springs communities and the surrounding area. In addition to Invisalign and Spark clear aligner treatments, Dr. Heinz offers a range of braces treatment options for kids, teens, and adults. Call us at (616) 951-3006 or click to schedule your complimentary consultation today!
