What do an orthodontic intervention and your airway have in common?
When I discuss early orthodontic intervention with parents, their eyes often glaze over and they look perplexed. This practice of an early referral for orthodontic intervention is far different from the traditional practice of ortho in years past, perhaps when you were a teenager. It used to be normal practice that when you had lost most of your baby teeth, you were sent to the local orthodontist. This usually happened around age 11 or 12, and you were sent to have a “screening” and see what the orthodontist thought.
Sometimes it was obvious that braces would be needed, and sometimes it was just a “rite of passage”.
In recent years, that process has changed a bit. (Although, not as much as a myofunctional therapist would like it to). Early orthodontic intervention is common as early as 4 or 5 years old, inside the myofunctional therapy world.
As a myofunctional therapist, I spend a lot of time educating parents about craniofacial development. When the face does not develop forward correctly, it can have negative consequences on the development of the airway, how crowded the teeth are, and how symmetrical the face looks.
Why is it all about the airway?
Straight teeth are nice and all but the correct development of the airway means that a person gets adequate oxygen and isn’t deprived. This is news to many parents. When orofacial myofunctional disorders are present the facial structure can be altered. When the maxilla (the upper jaw) does not grow large enough forward and out, the rest of the face may suffer. Similar to a lid on a box, the mandible (lower jaw) will follow the shape of the maxilla. When the mandible grows sufficiently forward, it brings with it the tongue, soft tissues, and airway. So when the maxilla fails to grow adequately, the airway may be compromised.
The reason it’s “all about the airway” is that sufficient oxygenation is necessary for optimal health and development. Sleep concerns, bedwetting, behavioral problems, anxiety, depression, and digestive issues are just a few results of poor breathing.
Early orthodontic intervention and myofunctional therapy
During an exam or assessment with a future client, I make sure that parents understand why it is important to
- Plan early intervention
- Seek out the right professional
It is important that parents watch for misguided craniofacial growth and do something about it early. This may involve more than one opinion. If your child appears to have a crowding issue or a cross-bite, and your orthodontist does not want to do anything about it now, I recommend that you seek out a different provider. I encourage my clients to seek out an “orthotropic” orthodontist. This type of orthodontist is more concerned about the correct structural alignment, airway, and craniofacial growth. This type of provider will focus on the airway, then the bones and lastly the straight teeth. This type of provider will also seek to start early, not waiting until the growth window has closed. I encourage parents to do some reading on the websites of my favorite mentors: Dr. Bill Hang, Dr. Sandra Kahn, Dr. Mark Cruz, and Dr. Michael Gelb. (These doctors are extremely knowledgeable and will help you have that “ah-ha” moment, clearly understanding why early orthodontic intervention is a must.)
The facial development of a child is mostly complete by age 10-12. This means that waiting to see someone about concerns until later in life, means that you may not be able to take advantage of the natural growth process like you could at an earlier age.
When parents come to me with a 4 or 5-year-old, I stress that they want to be considering interceptive, early intervention much sooner rather than later, since the process is much slower and can take several years.
As a myofunctional therapist, I’m helping to correct tongue placement, mouth resting posture, tongue thrust swallowing pattern and poor breathing habits. Correcting myofunctional impairment will help in the successful orthodontic intervention.
Does my child need an early orthodontic intervention?
If your child has any of the concerns below, I would recommend you seek out an “orthotropic or forwardontic” type of orthodontist. I would not recommend seeing your local, family orthodontist unless he or she has this type of training. Quite often my clients are sent away and told to come back years later when all permanent teeth are in, and at that point, the face is nearly done growing.
- Crowded, or misplaced teeth
- Small, recessed chin
- Mouth breathing, snoring, or obstructive sleep apnea concerns
- Long, narrow facial structure
- Crossbite
- Open bite
- Overbite, underbite
- Difficulty chewing, eating and biting
- Open mouth resting posture
- Spaces between teeth
- Missing or extra teeth
- High, narrow palate
- Tongue-tie, or previous tongue-tie
- Jaw and teeth are not proportionate to the face
One of the best things parents can do is watch for misguided craniofacial growth. It is imperative that both parents and clinicians recognize misguided facial growth early and begin treatment.
What are the benefits of early orthodontic intervention?
The biggest benefit of early orthodontic intervention is the ability to make corrections when facial growth deviates from normal. This includes creating room for adult teeth to grow in properly, creating facial symmetry and reducing the need to extract teeth.
Early orthodontic intervention also helps decrease the need for more invasive, expensive treatments down the road.
If You Have Concerns
By now, if you’ve been following me long enough…you know my path of passion here. You know this stuff is on my heart like a brick and I’m here to serve, educate, and empower parents to make the decisions they need to regarding his or her child. If your child has any of the concerns listed above, you need to have a complete evaluation with an experienced myofunctional therapist. There is a finite window of opportunity to help your child when it comes to early orthodontic intervention, and you don’t want to miss it!
It doesn’t cost you a dime to make a free 30-minute appointment with me to talk about you and what you should do. Start. Today.
About Carmen
Carmen found her path of passion years ago as a dental hygienist. After a stint in graduate school to earn her M.B.A., she left clinical hygiene practice to start her business, Integrative Myofunctional Therapy. In addition to seeing clients in her private online practice, she also teaches the craft of myofunctional therapy in her Myo Mastery Program, coaches dental offices on how to implement myofunctional screening into the daily practice, and speaks frequently in various settings.
Carmen is a provider for the Foundation of Airway Health, where she works diligently for the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of airway related disorders.
In addition, she is a proud member of several professional associations that afford her the opportunity to learn so that she can help her clients. Her professional memberships include: