For years, many of my younger patients would come into the clinic displaying a slew of similar symptoms; crooked teeth, narrow palate and arches, dark circles under their eyes, long faces, and their mouths open with their tongues hanging out of their heads. What I didn’t realise at the time was that there was one vital link that would connect them all together.
This approach of waiting years until the child’s deciduous teeth had all fallen out never sat well with me. So, I set out on a journey to learn why it is that children have crooked teeth at all, and what I found was game changing..
Did you know that three out of four children have crowded teeth and incorrectly developing jaws? We used to think that crowded teeth, incorrect jaw development and other orthodontic problems were caused by children with big teeth in small mouths or hereditary factors. But modern research has shown that in fact it is incorrect oral function such as mouth breathing, low tongue posture, tongue thrusting, a reverse swallow pattern and digit (thumb) sucking that leads to the development of many of the orthodontic issues we see today. Allergies such as allergic rhinitis (hayfever), asthma and an open mouth posture may also contribute to incorrect jaw development. Growing up, many of us may have experienced one or more of these oral behaviour issues, which may increase the risk of incorrect dental and facial development.
The traditional way of getting braces once the jaws have already substantially developed, with or without extractions, does not address the underlying causes of the malocclusion. Therefore, we commonly see teeth relapse, and move into positions similar to where they started, because we have not corrected the improper function that caused them to be crooked in the first place. Which is also why treatment with braces commonly results in the need for life-long retainers or fixed lingual or labial wires. Traditional orthodontics is great at moving teeth, it just doesn’t address the underlying causes of crooked teeth. In some instances, where a myofunctional approach such as Myobrace is not suitable or enough to achieve a perfect result, we refer to specialist orthodontists for the use of fixed braces into the treatment plan to achieve an optimal result.
The Myobrace myofunctional orthodontic system is a no braces approach to straightening teeth and achieving correct facial development.
The Myobrace treatment uses the philosophy of myofunctional therapy techniques in a simple and streamlined approach to address poor orofacial habits that are the real underlying cause of crooked teeth. The mechanics of the treatment uses light forces from the tongue and surrounding orofacial musculature in a correct manner to align the teeth and arches correctly. It is arguable that this approach could be considered new and emerging, but myofunctional orthodontic techniques such as the Myobrace system and similar have been practiced by Orthodontists and Dentists around the world for over 50 years.
If you would like to know more information about how Myobrace, please feel free to contact our practice, or email me directly on cass.j@luminousdentistry.com.au
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