Early Age Orthodontics in Children

The article is provided by Floss Dental, Best Dental Clinic in Noida, Delhi NCR. If you are searching for the best orthodontist in Noida or want to know more about orthodontics in children, then read the complete article. A Good Smile is the best gift we can give to anyone, especially children. A Smile depicts a positive emotion. Alongside this, it also represents a muscular component comprised of the facial muscles and a skeletal component comprised of maxillary and mandibular bone and teeth which form the basic structure of the middle and lower face. Dr. Pulkit, co-founder Floss Dental Clinic, states that the interplay of the facial muscles and facial bones results in harmonious growth of the face resulting in the perfectly placed dentition. Many times any discrepancy in any of the above components results in facial changes, making it either too long & narrow or short & wide. The buccinator muscle is a strong muscle puts inward pressure on the facial and buccal surface of the anterior and posterior teeth respectively. In ideal circumstances, this heavy force is counteracted by the tongue, which in turn puts outward pressure on the teeth. When both buccinators and tongue pressures are counteracted by each other, teeth are said to be in neutral occlusion which faces no active forces. In such a scenario, teeth and the bone will have ideal alignment. It has been observed in scientific literature, that children fall prey to different habits like mouth breathing, thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, etc. which disturb the buccinator mechanism leading to malocclusion. Children frequently suffering from upper respiratory tract infections and enlarged adenoids also have disturbed occlusion owing to the above reason. In respiratory tract infections or blockage, children tend to breathe through the mouth due to blocked nasal passage resulting in open mouth and lower placement of the tongue. Similarly thumb sucking habit; thumb displaces the tongue downward from its original position. In tongue thrusting habit, along with the lowered position of the tongue, it puts outward non countered force on the anterior teeth. When the tongue is pushed down from its ideal position, it is unable to counteract heavy inward forces by buccinators on the dentition resulting contraction of the maxillary/upper arch leading posterior crossbite. The tongue will also put strong force on the upper and lower front/anterior teeth resulting in their proclination. The above scenario will lead to unwanted disturbing forces on the dentition resulting in malocclusion affecting the skeletal growth of the face. These facial changes frequently go unnoticed or are ignored by General dentists. Dr. Deepti, co-founder Floss Dental Clinic, states that we as Pediatric dentists should aim at spreading awareness to the parents as well as Pediatricians about the harmful effects of malocclusion and the importance of early diagnosis followed by using myofunctional appliances. It is all the more important to make the General Best Dentist in Noida aware of the same so that they can refer the case to a Pediatric Dentist at the right time. Myofunctional appliances are advised in children during their growth years to minimize the skeletal and dental deformity, thus reducing or eliminating the need for fixed corrective orthodontics. They involve two components, one of which acts to eliminate pathological muscular forces and the other part acts on the skeletal structure involving maxilla and mandible to direct their growth. Thus, these appliances can direct the growth in the desired direction if advised at the correct age. Minor orthodontics using fixed 2x4 appliances or 2x6 appliances along with expansion appliances form a mainstay for pediatric fixed orthodontics in cases of minor malocclusion in children. It is our moral duty to motivate the parents and children for a regular check-up to a pediatric dentist so that any skeletal, facial, dental and muscular discrepancy can be diagnosed at an early age and corrected with treatment plan made after extensively analyzing the cast models and Xrays (orthopantomograph and lateral cepahlogram). Digital photography records should be maintained of the patient before, during and on completion of treatment to evaluate whether the desired results have been achieved or not.

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