05/27/2026
Not every young patient needs early intervention with orthodontic treatment. But sometimes, a two-step or two-phase approach is appropriate. For example, this young patient was struggling with a thumb sucking habit. In addition, there was a large gap between the two front teeth and the position of the thumb in the mouth contributed to changing the shape of the upper jaw in a negative way: tends to make the roof of the mouth narrower.
So, with great patient cooperation, we were able to stop the thumb sucking habit and to align the upper front few teeth and close the gap. The patient will continue to wear the retainer at night until Phase II is considered when more or all the adult teeth have come in.
