Phase 1 and early orthodontic treatment for kids in Cincinnati

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Haverkos, DMD, MSD, board-certified orthodontist. Updated June 2026.

Maybe your child’s dentist took a look at those first grown-up teeth and mentioned seeing an orthodontist early. Or maybe you’ve been watching videos about jaws, bites, and mouth breathing and started wondering about your own kid.

Either way, you’re at the kitchen table now, wondering whether your seven-year-old, who still loses a tooth to the Tooth Fairy now and then, really needs anything done yet.

Take a breath. A lot of kids who come in for an early look don’t need treatment at all, and we’ll tell you that plainly if it’s true for yours. The whole point of seeing us this young isn’t to start braces.

It’s to have a board-certified orthodontist check whether everything is developing the way it should, and to catch the small number of issues that are easier to fix while your child is still growing.

And yes, the visit is free, there’s no obligation, and we work hard to make the chair a place kids don’t dread. If you’ve seen our TikTok, you already know the vibe. West Side families keep coming back because the care is the best around and because their kids actually like being here.

The Short Version

If you’re skimming with one eye on a soccer practice pickup, here’s what you need:

• Most kids this age are simply monitored, not treated. We’ll say so if that’s your child.
• Phase 1 is short, focused early treatment for a few specific problems that get harder to fix once growth finishes.
• The right timing can sometimes simplify later treatment and, in certain cases, reduce the need for more complex procedures down the road.
• Your evaluation with Dr. Haverkos is free, and you’ll leave knowing exactly where your child stands.

What Phase 1 Actually Means for Your Child

Phase 1 is early, targeted orthodontic care for kids who still have a mix of baby and adult teeth, usually around ages seven to ten. You’ll also hear it called early or interceptive treatment.

The goal is narrow on purpose. We’re not chasing a perfect, photo-ready smile at age eight. We’re addressing one or two developing issues while the jaw is still soft and easy to guide, so a small problem now doesn’t become a complicated one later. Think of it as making room and steering growth in the right direction while the bones are still cooperative, instead of forcing things into place after everything has hardened.

Plenty of kids who have a first phase still need a round of braces or aligners as teens to finish the job. The early work just handles the hard, growth-dependent part first, which often makes that second round simpler.

Why Your Dentist Recommended an Orthodontic Evaluation by Age 7

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a first orthodontic checkup by age seven, and this is the part that worries parents, because it sounds like a recommendation for braces at seven. It isn’t.

By age seven, enough adult teeth have come in and enough jaw growth has happened that we can spot things developing early: a narrow upper jaw, a crossbite, severe crowding, a bite drifting the wrong way. Spotting a problem early is not the same as treating it early. It means Dr. Haverkos can tell you whether to act now, keep a casual eye on it, or stop thinking about it entirely.

Your general dentist sees your child regularly and knows when a second set of eyes is worth it. That referral is a good catch on their part, and we work right alongside the dentists who send families our way. Often the answer we send back is reassuring: everything’s on track, see you at the next check-in.

Most of the families we see for early evaluations come from right around here: Bridgetown, Harrison, Delhi, Green Township, Colerain, Cheviot, Dent, and the neighboring West Side communities. A lot of them find us the same way, after a routine cleaning with their family or pediatric dentist raises a question about crowding, a crossbite, or how a jaw is coming in.

Most Kids We See This Young Don’t Need Treatment Yet

We want to be upfront, because we know cost and necessity are the two things on your mind. A large share of these early visits end with us saying some version of “this is all developing normally, let’s just check back in periodically.” There’s no charge to hear that, and no pressure to do anything else.

Early treatment usually isn’t the right call when a child has mild crowding that can wait for full braces later, a minor bite quirk with no skeletal piece to it, or baby teeth that simply look a little crooked while everything’s still shifting around. Crooked baby teeth on their own are rarely a reason to start anything.

In those cases, the smarter and less expensive path is to do nothing yet and watch. We’ll see your child for quick growth check-ins every so often, so if something does start to develop, we catch it at the right moment. And if it never does, you haven’t spent years and dollars chasing a treatment your child never needed. Recommending less, when less is right, is just part of doing this honestly.

Signs That Make an Early Orthodontic Evaluation Worth It

Most children we see at seven or eight are fine to wait. Still, a few things make a child’s orthodontic evaluation worth booking sooner rather than later:

• Adult teeth coming in badly crowded or overlapping, with no room to fit
• A crossbite, where some upper teeth bite inside the lower ones
• Trouble biting or chewing, or a jaw that shifts to one side when your child closes down
• An underbite, or a deep overbite that looks more pronounced than you’d expect
• Baby teeth lost a lot earlier than they should be
• Thumb or finger sucking still going strong past the toddler years
• A top jaw that looks narrow, or a smile that seems pinched

Spotting one of these doesn’t mean your child needs treatment. It means an orthodontist for a 7-year-old can take a closer look and tell you whether it’s worth acting on now or fine to keep watching. That’s the whole job of the visit.

When Early Treatment Makes a Real Difference

For the kids who do benefit, it comes down to a handful of issues that depend on growth. Here’s where catching it early actually changes the outcome, and what we’d typically reach for.

Every child is different, which is why none of this gets decided from a webpage. It gets decided after Dr. Haverkos looks in your child’s mouth.

What Early Care Looks Like at Our Office

When Dr. Haverkos does recommend treatment, it’s usually one focused appliance for a few months, not years of hardware. Kids adapt to an expander or a habit appliance faster than parents expect, and any pressure after an adjustment passes quickly.

The part kids tend to think is cool: there’s no goopy, gag-inducing mold anymore. We use an iTero digital scanner to capture your child’s teeth in a few minutes, and our in-house lab uses 3D printing to make custom appliances right here. That means precise treatment and fewer trips across town, which matters when you’re already shuttling between school, practice, and everything else. You can see more of how we work on our treatments page.

Dr. Haverkos brings real depth to growing kids, too. He completed his orthodontic residency at VCU and worked with children at the Craniofacial Center at Children’s Hospital of Richmond, and he designed an orthodontic bracket for his master’s thesis. You can read his full background on Dr. Haverkos’s page.

Having Someone You Trust in Your Corner

Parents know more about orthodontics than they used to, and a lot of that comes from the videos filling your feed. Jaw development, crowding, tongue posture, mouth breathing and how it connects to a narrow upper jaw: it’s all out there now, and it’s a good thing that families are tuned into it earlier.

A feed can’t tell you which of it applies to your own child, though, and that tends to leave parents more anxious instead of less, holding a phone full of maybes. The link between a narrow jaw and breathing is real and worth a look.

We just won’t hand you a scary label from a webpage or promise that orthodontics fixes everything. We’ll tell you what we actually see in your child’s mouth, what’s worth keeping an eye on, and when it makes sense to loop in your dentist or pediatrician.

That’s exactly what we can take off your plate. You’re already carrying plenty, and this is one thing you don’t have to figure out alone. Having an orthodontist you trust to give you a straight, kid-first answer means you get to stop second-guessing and feel settled about the decision. Weight lifted.

Why Kids Actually Like Coming Here

This is the part you can’t fake, and it’s a big reason West Side families pick us for their children. Plenty of parents come to us after a kid had a rough time somewhere else. One mom told us her son dreaded the dentist for years until he started coming here, and now he doesn’t anymore. Another shared that her daughter has sensory challenges and that our team was patient and reassuring through every visit.

That’s the room we want your child walking into: warm, a little fun, never rushed. We explain things to kids in words they understand, and we keep the mood light enough that a nervous seven-year-old loosens up fast.

The recognition follows the experience. Haverkos Family Orthodontics was voted Cincinnati’s Best Orthodontist by CityBeat in 2025 and has earned more than 1,000 five-star Google reviews from local families.

What It Costs, and How We Keep It Clear

Because Phase 1 is focused and time-limited rather than a full course of treatment, it usually costs less than a full set of braces. The exact number depends on which appliance your child needs and how involved the correction is, which is why we give you a real figure at the consultation instead of a vague range online.

We go over your specific insurance benefits with you at that free visit, so there are no surprises. You’ll see a clear breakdown of what treatment runs, what insurance covers, and what’s left, plus flexible in-house payment plans and CareCredit financing to spread it out. For a fuller look at pricing for younger patients, our guide to orthodontic costs in Cincinnati walks through what to expect.

Your Child’s First Visit, Start to Finish

The first appointment is free, runs about an hour, and is built to answer your questions, not to push you anywhere:

1. Your family gets greeted by name up front, and most kids relax once they realize the place feels friendlier than clinical.
2. We take digital X-rays and photos to look at your child’s teeth, bite, and jaw development.
3. Dr. Haverkos examines your child personally and explains what he sees in plain language.
4. You get a clear recommendation: early treatment now, periodic check-ins to monitor growth, or nothing needed yet.
5. If treatment makes sense, you’ll see the full cost breakdown before you commit to a thing.

You can see what to bring and how to prepare on our patient info page.

Why West Side Families Pick Haverkos for Their Kids

Choosing who guides your child’s care is a bigger call than picking where to get teeth straightened. You want someone you trust, and an experience that doesn’t feel like a factory line.

Dr. Haverkos is a board-certified orthodontist, a step beyond residency that takes additional board exams and case reviews, and one not every orthodontist pursues. The practice has two convenient West Side locations in Bridgetown and Harrison, more than 1,000 five-star reviews, and a 2025 CityBeat award for Best Orthodontist in Cincinnati. We serve families across Bridgetown, Harrison, Delhi, Green Township, Colerain, and the surrounding communities.

If a recommendation from anywhere ever feels rushed or oversized, a free second opinion is a smart, reasonable step, and we welcome it. A practice confident in its advice has no reason to fear a fresh set of eyes.

Questions Parents Ask About Phase 1

Visit Us

We see kids for early evaluations at both of our West Side offices. Call (513) 481-8000 to set up a free visit at whichever location is easier for your family.

The first step is simple and free: a thorough exam with Dr. Haverkos, a clear explanation of what he finds, and an honest recommendation about whether early treatment makes sense for your child.