Broad and beautiful smiles

Mouth breathing can cause narrow arches and unattractive smiles.

By using functional appliances while children are actively growing, we can help them achieve a broad, beautiful smile.

    Healthy jaw joints

Many children with narrow jaws, deep overbites or receding lower jaws have unhealthy jaw joints which can cause:

Headaches
Neck pain
Dizziness
Earaches or ringing in ears
Fainting
Clicking or locking jaws
Difficulty opening jaws

    The ability to breathe freely

Mouth breathing can lead to orthodontic problems as well as other problems, such as lack of oxygen and poor sleeping habits. This leaves children prone to daytime fatigue, and inability to concentrate in school and headaches.

    An end to ear pain

Deep overbites and receding lower jaws may cause earaches, stuffiness or ringing in the ears.

If infection has been ruled out, functional appliances can eliminate these symptoms effectively.

    Facilitated speech development

Narrow jaws can confine the tongue and interfere with normal speech.

Functional appliances help ensure proper growth and greatly enhance a child's ability to speak normally.

    Your support

Parents want the best for their children:

Straight teeth
Properly sized jaws
Straight profiles
And of course, beautiful smiles!

---

By treating problems early, you save money and may prevent the need for more extensive future treatment.

    Eliminate Crowding

Crowded teeth are caused by narrow arches. By developing the arches at an early age, we may prevent or eliminate the crowding of permanent teeth.

    Functional appliances can correct:

Bite problems
Underdeveloped jaws
Narrow arches
Crowded teeth
Deep overbites
Jaw joint problems
Airway problems
Thumb sucking problems

    ... and often prevents:

Removal of adult teeth
Fang-like tooth appearance
Lengthy use of braces
Speech difficulties
Crowding

    

    Phase One

Functional appliances - Age 5 to 12

Early treatment should be initiated for:

Habits such as tongue thrusting    and thumb sucking
A constricted airway due to
   swollen adenoids or tonsils
Mouth breathing or snoring
A bad bite
Bone problems (i.e. narrow or
   underdeveloped jaws)

    Phase Two

Braces - ages 12 to 14

Teeth are straightened with braces
Braces usually take about 1.5
   to 2 years
Teeth are whitened

    Facial development

75% of 12 year-olds need orthodontic treatment. Yet 90% of a child's face has already developed! By guiding facial development early, through the use of functional appliances, 90% of the treatment can be corrected before the adult teeth are present!

    Cooperation

Younger children between the ages of 8 and 11 are often much more cooperative than children of 12 to 14.

    Shorter treatment time

Another advantage of early Phase One treatment is that children will need to wear fixed braces on their adult teeth for less time.

    To correct underdeveloped jaws

Almost 50% of children who needs orthodontic treatment due to a bad bite have underdeveloped lower jaws. Functional appliances can reposition the lower jaw forward, improve the child's profile and correct the bite problem - within 7 to 9 months!