Interceptive Orthodontics
Interceptive Orthodontics is a type of orthodontic treatment that focuses on identifying and treating dental alignment and jaw growth problems in children at an early age. The goal of this treatment is to catch potential issues before they become more serious, which can often save time, money, and discomfort down the line. This includes:
Space Maintenance for Adult Teeth
If your child loses a baby tooth prematurely due to decay, extraction, or dental trauma, you may think nothing of it. After all, your child’s baby teeth will eventually be replaced by permanent teeth anyways, so why bother with a prematurely lost baby tooth? While it is certainly true that your child will eventually have a permanent tooth erupt in the space left by a missing baby tooth, it is also true that baby teeth lost too early can cause problems for erupting permanent teeth. For this reason, your child’s pediatric dentist may recommend something called a space maintainer.
Space maintainers are important to your child’s oral health because they prevent a number of complications from occurring. This is because your child’s permanent teeth are directly affected by their primary teeth and if these primary teeth are lost too soon, it tends to cause complications with the permanent teeth. These complications can include some or all of the following: A lack of space for the permanent teeth to erupt into Increased risk of teeth becoming impacted or erupting improperly Overcrowding, overlapping, or crooked permanent teeth Speech impediments Malocclusion (misaligned bite) Increased need for orthodontic treatment later down the line
Space maintainers are typically made of metal materials. In some cases, acrylic can be made to create a space maintainer; however, this is much rarer. Metal is a good option because it is thick, durable, and long-lasting, meaning it can weather whatever the oral cavity goes through until the adult tooth erupts.
It is recommended to brush regularly around space maintainers as food can get stuck in or around them. Additionally, it is advised to avoid chewing sticky, hard, or tough foods on the side of the mouth that has a space maintainer. Foods that are not soft in substance can easily damage space maintainers, requiring a replacement to be performed. Lastly, rinsing with salt water or a gentle mouthwash can help to keep food debris from getting left behind.
Space maintainers are placed to keep gaps between teeth open so that adjacent teeth do not shift and cover the gap, preventing the adult tooth from erupting.
No. Space maintainers are not permanent. They are typically only worn for a couple of years
Space maintainers are recommended when children prematurely lose their baby teeth. This may be a result of injury or infection, both of which may result in dislodgement or extraction. When the baby teeth are lost too early, the empty space can lead to a shift and the gap can close, which will be a problem later on when the adult tooth grows in.
There is not a set timespan that space maintainers are worn for. Instead, it varies per child depending on how young they are then whey prematurely lose their teeth. In general, space maintainers are worn for a couple of years, until the adult teeth are about to erupt.
Harmful Habit Correction in Kids
Habit appliances are devices that are most commonly used to help youngsters stop detrimental oral habits. Habit appliances are also known as habit breaking appliances or crib appliances. Most are metal devices that are placed on the inside of the front teeth and can look like metal retainers. Some habit breaking devices can be removed, like retainers, and some are glued into place and cannot be removed. Habit breaking appliances are often held in place by the upper molars. Habit breaking appliances can both physically stop the bad habit and can serve as a reminder to not partake in the bad habit.
The main purpose of habit appliances is to stop toddlers from non-nutritive sucking habits, such as thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, or even mouth breathing. The goal of habit appliances, beyond breaking bad habits like tongue-thrusting and thumb-sucking, is to prevent individuals from positioning their teeth in odd and unnatural positions that may lead to an open bite, an overbite, or protruding teeth. Habit oral appliances can prevent the teeth from aligning in bad positions. By using a habit appliance for a child who sucks their thumb after getting their permanent teeth, you can potentially prevent the need for braces.
It could take a couple of weeks to several months to break the habit. Some habit appliances are like retainers and can be removed on one’s own, however, most habit appliances are glued into place and have to be removed by a dentist once they believe the habit has been successfully broken. Sometimes habit appliances can be left in an individual’s mouth for years.
If mouth breathing becomes a habit (or in case of heavy snoring), If thumb sucking becomes a habit, If tongue-thrusting becomes a habit, If any other bad habits arise that cause the teeth to be positioned in an unnatural way
Habit devices are not harmful to the teeth or mouth, and there is no proven drawback to using them. Habit appliances are temporary and prevent damage to the teeth caused by tongue-thrusting or thumb-sucking.
Braces for Kids / Straightening Teeth Naturally
Myobraces are preventive orthodontic braces that are designed to be worn by children between the ages of 3 and 15 years. These braces will help to identify and correct the underlying issues (such as inaccurate breathing patterns or incorrect tongue postures) that lead to the problems in your child’s oral health, such as shifting teeth or incorrect jaw development.
The best time to start Myobrace® treatment is between 5-10 years old and therefore it is normal to only have a few adult teeth. Because Myobrace® treatment works by promoting correct facial development and jaw growth through removing bad oral habits, the best and most stable results are often achieved early while the child is still growing.
There have been no reported harmful effects with Myobrace® treatment. The appliances used are flexible and exert light intermittent forces that assist in retraining the muscles and mode of breathing.
It is heavily dependent on the child’s compliance to Myobrace® treatment and their biological ability to change habits as well as growth patterns. Generally, the earlier treatment is started – the higher level of success. Suggested treatment time with good compliance is generally two to three years, providing there are no other significant health concerns limiting treatment results.
Over the course of Myobrace® treatment the practitioner will closely monitor the stability of treatment. Generally, if the myofunctional problems are corrected, the teeth will stay in their position.
No. During the first few days there may be a small amount of sensitivity. However, after the first few days of treatment, this sensitivity should cease.