The other factor is knowing how to use natural spaces available in the bone as the last of the lower baby teeth are being lost. Being in orthodontic treatment before the last of the lower baby teeth are lost and before the major teenage growth spurt is the objective. If you plot a graph of a child s growth as a function of age vs. height, you will find they do not grow in a straight line. The graph will look like a set of steps until the final leveling out after the teen-age years. The goal is to treat skeletal problems like retrusive jaws, constricted palates, and avoid extractions by treating the child during the maximum growth period from approximately age 11 to 14.
Kids grow for short periods and then go into a lag stage.
The greatest growth rate occurs during the long days of summer. This apparently is due to pituitary gland factors related to length of the day and heat. Girls will typically mature much earlier in the more southern climes and later in the northern latitudes. This factor is important as growth anticipation must begin earlier in the south and later up north. Kids will a massive growth spurt at about age eleven for girls and thirteen for boys.