Children’s oral health care can sometimes be more challenging than routine adult care. On top of helping children maintain excellent dental health, it also involves helping ensure that they’re oral and facial structures develop correctly and in proper alignment. At our Livonia, MI, dental office, we offer custom orthotropics that help comfortably and successfully promote better facial and oral development through the use of personalized appliances. After a comprehensive examination, we can help you determine if orthotropics can benefit your child.
1. Better-quality sleep every night
Sometimes, the improper development of certain oral tissues and structures can have consequences for more than oral health. For example, children may snore constantly, sleep restlessly, or experience serious sleep disorders (such as sleep apnea) due to difficulty breathing. This results from oral and throat tissues collapsing into the airway, or the airway itself developing too narrowly, which can lead to airway obstruction while your child sleeps. By promoting more proportionate development of your child’s oral tissues and structures, orthotropics can alleviate or reduce the risks of your child having trouble sleeping.
2. More properly aligned oral structures
In addition to improving airway development and the development of the tissues around it, orthotropics also helps ensure that your child’s teeth, jawbone, and other oral structures are properly aligned. While some children may still require braces in the future, early intervention with orthotropic treatment can reduce the severity of malocclusion, or tooth misalignment, and therefore the extent of orthodontic treatment needed. This also improves your child’s bite function and reduces the risks of conditions such as bruxism (chronic teeth-grinding) and TMJ disorder (jaw dysfunction).
3. Improved behavioral issues
When children lose quality sleep due to oral and facial development issues, they can sometimes exhibit symptoms that are often mistaken for behavioral issues or problems with attention or discipline. In many cases, improving the underlying issues that inhibit proper sleep can help improve the symptoms that children exhibit in their daily lives. In addition to the reduced need for oral health treatment, restoration, and correction, the improved sleep and behavior means your child can have a better chance at an improved overall quality of life.
Find out if orthotropics can benefit your child
For many children, orthotropics can help improve several existing and potential future concerns by allowing for more proper oral and facial development. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling the office of James Stewart, DDS in Livonia, MI, today at (734) 425-4400.