For many families, the first orthodontic visit around age 7 ends with two words: not yet. Your child’s teeth and jaws are developing in a way that’s worth watching, but nothing needs treatment today. That’s a good outcome. It also leaves most parents with a practical question on the drive home: what happens between now and the next visit?
Traditionally, the answer has been a recheck visit every so often, whether anything has changed or not. At Varble Orthodontics, families with a child in orthodontic observation now have more options. We use DentalMonitoring, a system that lets your child scan their teeth at home with a phone, to check in once a month. Your child comes in when needed.
What Orthodontic Observation Means
Between roughly ages 6 and 12, most kids have a mix of baby teeth and adult teeth. A lot changes during these years. Baby teeth loosen and fall out, adult teeth come in behind them, and the jaws keep growing.
At this age, we look at whether there’s enough room for the adult teeth and how the upper and lower teeth fit together. We also look at how the jaws are growing. Some of what we see at this stage benefits from early treatment. Much of it doesn’t need treatment yet. For many kids, the right call is to watch how things develop and decide on treatment once more of the adult teeth are in. That watching period is what we mean by orthodontic observation.
Observation also applies to kids between phases of two-phase treatment. Phase 1 is an early round of treatment while baby teeth are still in. Phase 2 usually starts once most of the adult teeth have come in. After Phase 1 ends, there’s usually a period while the remaining adult teeth come in before Phase 2 can begin. Orthodontists sometimes call this the interim period. The goal during that stretch is the same as with observation: follow development closely and time the next step well.
Whether early treatment makes sense for your child depends on what we find. Some cases do better when we start early, and others do better when we wait. It depends on whether [early treatment changes the outcome] for your child’s specific situation.
How Recheck Visits Have Usually Worked
For families in observation, the usual approach is a series of recheck visits. You come in, we take a look, and we compare what we see to the last visit. Then we schedule the next one.
Rechecks work, and some families prefer them. They also come with trade-offs. Each one means pulling your child out of school and driving to the office, usually in the middle of a workday. Many of those visits confirm that development is on track and nothing needs to change. That’s good news, but it still costs your family an afternoon.
Because we only see your child at each visit, anything that changes in between has to wait until the next appointment. Timing plays a big part in how orthodontic treatment goes, so a calendar-based schedule can only tell us so much about when your child is ready.
How Observation Monitoring Works
Observation monitoring uses the same system many of our treatment patients use. The difference is the schedule: most treatment patients scan weekly, and kids in observation or between phases scan once a month.
A Monthly Scan From Home
Once a month, your child takes a short scan of their teeth at home using a smartphone and the DentalMonitoring app. The app walks them through each step of the scan, and the scan uploads automatically. Dr. Varble reviews it, the same way he reviews every scan from every patient in our practice.
For most families, that monthly scan replaces a trip to the office. That means fewer in-office visits, whether your child is in observation or in active treatment. You pick the evening that works for your household, and the scan becomes part of an ordinary week with DentalMonitoring.
After each review, one of two things happens. If everything looks the way it should, you get an update and keep going. If something needs a closer look, we reach out with instructions or schedule a visit so Dr. Varble can see your child in person.
What We’re Watching
Each monthly check-in covers three areas:
- Oral hygiene. We look at how well your child is brushing and caring for their gums, and we coach them along the way. Kids this age are often just starting to brush on their own, so monthly feedback helps. Habits built now carry into treatment later if your child ends up needing treatment.
- Baby teeth and adult teeth. We track which baby teeth are loosening or gone and how the adult teeth are coming in behind them.
- Growth. We compare each scan to earlier ones to see how the teeth and bite are developing over time.
Videos From Your Treatment Coordinator
Your treatment coordinator is the team member who works with your family on scheduling and next steps. With observation monitoring, the same coordinator your family met at your child’s visit sends personalized videos with updates on your child’s progress. You hear from someone you already know, and you can reply through the app with any questions.
Three Ways to Watch
When your child is in observation or between phases, you choose how to follow along until treatment is ready to begin. We offer three options, shown in the graphic below.
Two of the options use DentalMonitoring. With Virtual Visits, your child completes a monthly scan at home until they’re ready for treatment, and you skip the routine office visits. Secure Your Smile uses the same monthly scans and is designed for families whose child will need treatment later. It starts your child’s treatment contract at the consultation, so the financial side is set up before treatment begins.
The third option, In-Office Observation, keeps the traditional approach. Your child comes in for routine visits until they’re ready, and we review treatment fees at that point.
Some families like the routine of coming in. Others would rather keep the school day and the workday intact. We’ll talk through all three options at your child’s appointment, including what each one costs, so you can pick the one that fits.
A few things stay the same whichever you choose. Dr. Varble makes every clinical decision about your child’s care. And the decision about when to start treatment is a clinical call based on your child’s development, so we won’t rush a start to fit a schedule.
Knowing When Treatment Is Ready, and When It Isn’t
The point of observation is timing. We want to start treatment when your child’s development shows it’s time.
Monthly check-ins give us a steadier view of that timing. If adult teeth come in sooner than expected, or the bite starts developing in a way we want to address, the scans show it. If development stays on track, the scans show that too, and your family skips the extra trips to the office.
Sometimes monitoring shows that it’s time to start treatment. Other times it shows that waiting longer is still the right call. We follow what the scans show in both cases.
When the scans suggest your child may be ready, we bring you in for a full visit. Dr. Varble examines your child in person and walks you through your options. That’s the job of orthodontic observation: watching for the right time so you don’t have to.
Where to Start
Observation monitoring starts with your child’s free VO Smile Assessment, which covers treatment options, timing, and next steps. If observation is the plan, we’ll walk you through the three ways to follow along and let you choose.
