We are already seeing many benefits for our younger patients by starting their treatment early.
The most common procedure we seem to be carrying out is gentle expansion of the top arch of the mouth, which is proving to be successful in creating more space in children’s growing jaws for the adult teeth to come through. During this procedure we are also providing initial alignment of the front teeth.
In this era of heightened cosmetic awareness, children are more conscious of their appearance at a much younger age than previous generations and so improving their front teeth before they start senior school is helping reduce their concerns and anxiety about their smiles.
We have recently started treatment of an 8 year old girl whose bottom teeth are further forward than her top teeth using a new type of removable brace. This works by transferring force to the upper jaw, helping it to grow forwards and is a much more comfortable and manageable treatment for her than the traditional alternative of face mask headgear with a removable brace. So far we have seen the beginning of improvements in her bite, in particular breaking the habit of moving her lower jaw forward to bite the teeth together. We are really excited about her progress and think it shows great promise as an effective way of managing these types of cases during children’s growth.
Paula