The question of when orthodontic treatment should be started depends on the type of tooth and jaw misalignment.
On our "Early orthodontic treatment" page, you can find out which tooth and jaw misalignments should be treated as early as 5-7 years of age and which risk factors can be treated with simple orthodontic measures to prevent maldevelopment and misalignment.
Most malocclusions, such as crowded incisors, should be started at the age of 9-11 years. More information on this can be found on our page on "Orthodontics for adolescents". It often makes sense to start treatment when the milk molars have not yet fallen out - or at the latest when the milk molars fall out (see "Treatment during the change of teeth"). This is because the space created by changing these teeth can then be used for the crowded incisors.
If a misalignment only becomes noticeable when all the permanent teeth have already erupted ("Orthodontics in the permanent dentition"), it is important to note that statutory health insurance companies only subsidise most orthodontic treatments up to the age of 18
As you can see from our page on "Orthodontics for adults", misalignments can also be corrected in adults or at an advanced age. Modern methods in particular (e.g. the "lingual appliance" or "aligner") nowadays allow treatment that is almost "invisible" to others. Unfortunately, patients with statutory health insurance usually have to pay the costs privately. Exceptions to this are misalignments that are so pronounced that surgical correction of the jaws is required in addition to braces (see "Treatment of pronounced jaw misalignments in adulthood").
As a university orthodontic clinic, we aim to use the latest diagnostic procedures and develop these further through our own scientific research.
The jaws and teeth of all our patients are digitally recorded using 3D scanners. These 3D models are then digitally measured using special software. We also produce a 3D facial scan (i.e. a three-dimensional facial photo) of all patients, which we also analyse with the help of a computer.
The treatment plans for all our patients are discussed and determined by the entire team of doctors together with the clinic's Medical Director, Prof Dr Dr Lapatki, and the senior consultants. This not only helps our prospective orthodontic specialists to gain experience, but also means that all plans are carefully considered and weighed up by looking at the patient and discussing them in detail in a large group. This means that our patients in particular also benefit greatly from this approach!