Early Orthodontic Treatment: Dr. Chris Baker Shares Insights into Pediatric Orthodontics

Dr. Chris Baker is a past president and currently serves as Senior Instructor of the American Orthodontic Society. As a pediatric dentist and instructor for the AOS, we felt it would be important to hear her opinions on a few issues involving early treatment. So, let’s begin.

What is early orthodontic treatment as you practice it?

Funny how verbiage changes from year to year and from generation to generation. I can say to you that orthodontic treatment is an awesome option for many patients— and not that many years ago, you might have thought it odd that I would use the word “awesome” to describe orthodontic treatment. After all, “awesome” meant something that would induce an overwhelming feeling of awe, like seeing Michelangelo’s ‘David’ carved from one piece of stone, in all its detail, or seeing the immensity of the Grand Canyon. Today, the word awesome is used to describe things that we like.

Orthodontic treatment might be called awesome, when we mean pretty great, OR when we mean it induces true awe in its results.