Space Maintainers
Band and Loop
Space maintainers are appliances made of metal or plastic that are custom fit to your child’s mouth. They are small and unobtrusive in appearance. Most children easily adjust to them after the first few days. Space maintainers hold open the empty space left by a lost tooth. They steady the remaining teeth, preventing movement until the permanent tooth takes its natural position in the jaw.
Lower Lingual Arch
Interceptive Orthodontics
Interceptive orthodontics is the first phase of orthodontics. We provide early orthodontic treatment to reduce or eliminate the need for more in-depth and expensive orthodontic care in the future. This is the first step to a healthy, brighter smile!
Rapid palatal expander Creates arch length. This appliance is adjusted daily by patient/parent: they turn the jack–screw with a “key” to achieve the desired width.
Comprehensive Orthodontics
Crooked and crowded teeth are hard to clean and maintain. This can result in tooth decay, worsen gum disease and lead to tooth loss. Other orthodontic problems can contribute to abnormal wear of tooth surfaces, inefficient chewing function, excessive stress on gum tissue and the bone that supports the teeth, or misalignment of the jaw joints. These can lead to chronic headaches and face or neck pain. Treatment by an orthodontist can be less costly than the additional care required to treat dental problems arising as a result of orthodontic problems. For most people, a beautiful smile is the most obvious benefit of orthodontics. After your braces come off, you’ll feel more self-confident.
It’s best for children to have an orthodontic evaluation by age 7 to advise if orthodontic treatment is required and the best time for that patient to be treated. This evaluation may be done by our pediatric dentists or our orthodontist. At time crossbites, crowding and other problems can be evaluated. When treatment is begun early, the dentist can guide the growth of the jaw and guide incoming permanent teeth. Early treatment can also regulate the width of the upper and lower dental arches, gain space for permanent teeth, avoid the need for permanent tooth extractions, reduce likelihood of impacted permanent teeth, correct thumb-sucking, and eliminate abnormal swallowing or speech problems. In other words, early treatment can simplify later treatment.
Our pediatric dentist is trained to provide phase I orthodontics, interceptive orthodontics. This means we spot and treat problems early, reducing or eliminating the need for more complex and expensive orthodontic care in the future. Our orthodontist will provide comprehensive orthodontic care, incorporating the latest technologies and is also an Invisalign® Premiere Provider. Common dental malocclusions include: crowding, crossbites, openbites, deepbites, congenitally missing teeth, underbites, and space closure.