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The principals of orthodontic treatment have hardly changed for the last 100 years. Some teeth are extracted to make room and the remainder are aligned with fixed Braces. However, research shows that the facial profile may be adversely affected. Tooth position stabilisation is also affected and even relapse may occur.

Parents are often not told of newer and modern treatments such as Orthopaedic Orthodontics which aims to guide the growth of the jaws while the child is young and usually provides better results without the need for extractions. Orthopaedic Orthodontics also has the advantage that the teeth stay straight afterwards and the facial profile is typically improved dramatically (see below).

Few parents realise how malleable the facial bones of a young child are and how an apparently insignificant mouth breathing child who has regular nose congestion, colds and does not function “full of beans!” has a devastating influence on his/her facial development and  appearance forever.

Nearly all children have the potential to grow attractively, but habits such as hanging the mouth open or sucking the thumb will cause the face to grow vertically, long and forces them to mouth breath.

Some faces grow forwards (horizontally) and are better looking with straight teeth, while others grow more downwards (vertically) and may look plain with crooked teeth.

Orthopaedic Orthodontics at Poplar Dental

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This is well illustrated by the images below of a boy who developed a blocked nose and hung his mouth open. Notice how his face has lengthened, his lower lip is thickened and his eyes and nose now appear to be protrusive. These are the first signs of incorrect growth and are due to the upper jaw failing to grow forward. Such faces have flat cheeks with loose discoloured skin under the eyes.

Vertical Growth
Damages Faces

This child’s face was damaged by vertical growth  orthodontic conventional treatment. Vertical growth is associated with thick lips, receding chins, protruding noses, sloping foreheads and tired eyes. They are usually lethargic and struggle to wake in the mornings.

Horizontal Growth
Improves Faces

This boy received Orthopaedic Orthodontic treatment. Although his front teeth stuck out, both jaws were encouraged to grow forward. Few other techniques achieve this because they pull the teeth back. Horizontal growers retain naturally straighter teeth for a life time and possess attractive smiles.

Most orthodontic treatment increases vertical growth (see illustrations on the left) Some clinicians claim that ‘Functional’ or ‘Orthopaedic’ treatment will avoid extractions and vertical growth but this is unlikely in the long-term, so it is wise to ask for written confirmation that the direction of growth will not be increased and that there will be room for all 32 teeth.

Most children with out sticking front teeth are treated by pulling them back. However, if you look at the side of such a child's face, you can see that the fault is often their lower jaw which is too far back.

All dentist are legally obliged to tell their patients about alternative methods of treatment, especially if they are recommending irreversible procedures such as extractions or surgery. The girl on the picture was not told there was an alternative to having extractions and her top teeth were pulled back.

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