Myobrace

About three out of four children have crooked teeth, but this is only the most visible sign of more serious developmental problems involving the teeth and jaws. Often, dentists recommend waiting to treat this problem until all the adult teeth have come in, leading to more crooked teeth, and the potential need to have some teeth extracted. However, there is another way–Myobrace lets us intervene in your child’s oral development with a removable appliance and daily exercises. This combination stimulates the growth of your child’s jaw, which not only helps their teeth come in straight, but can improve their biting, chewing, speaking, and breathing. This can often mean your child won’t need braces later in life.

Would you like to learn more about Myobrace and how it can help your child, please call 703-323-8200 today for an appointment with myofunctional dentist Dr. Pamela Marzban in Burke, VA.

These days, more children are developing crooked teeth than ever. This is because of changes in our lifestyle that have diminished the natural processes that used to cause our teeth and jaws to develop more harmoniously.

The teeth and jaws are supposed to develop harmoniously, with the jaw expanding to create space for first the primary teeth and later the permanent teeth. This process is governed by our genetic programming, but stimulated by the interaction of the teeth, jaws, and muscles.

Chewing and the action of our tongue and cheeks are supposed to both push the jaw and its arch of teeth to grow larger but also restrict its growth from getting too large. As people eat more processed foods, they don’t have as much muscle action to stimulate jaw growth. Therefore, the jaw doesn’t grow large enough to accommodate all their adult teeth.

In addition, childhood habits like mouth breathing, sucking thumbs, reverse swallowing, and tongue thrusting lead jaws to develop in unhealthy ways.

The Myobrace approach tries to utilize natural developmental mechanisms to stimulate jaw growth. We supplement the natural biting and chewing forces. We do this with the use of a removable appliance that a child wears for 1-2 hours a day and while sleeping, plus some breathing and mouth exercises.

This combination over time stimulates the growth of the jaw, creating the space necessary for adult teeth to come in straight. In addition, it helps retrain the muscles to create a lifetime of healthy habits that encourages better jaw development for life.

The Myobrace approach is good for children and their parents because it can:

• Reduce or eliminate the need for traditional orthodontics
• Improved breathing
• Fewer jaw problems
• More attractive appearance

Myobrace is not an alternative to traditional orthodontics. It seeks to achieve some of the same goals as orthodontics–straight teeth, healthy jaw size, shape, and position–while your child is still growing and developing, rather than waiting until much of that development has been done in an unhealthy way. It’s easier to make sure things go right in the first place than to try to correct them when they go wrong. Children who take advantage of the Myobrace approach may need less aggressive orthodontic treatment, and some may not need any at all.

Because the jaw provides bony support for the airway, poor jaw development can hamper a child’s ability to breathe. By encouraging jaw development, Myobrace can help your child breathe easier.

Teeth that are crooked, crowded, and don’t fit together right can increase a person’s risk of developing temporomandibular joint disorders and other bite problems.

Finally, a receding chin and narrow mouth–both effects of poor arch development–can impact a person’s appearance. Encouraging healthy jaw development can lead to more attractive facial proportions.

Are you concerned about your child’s oral development? Do you wish there was something you could do now, rather than waiting until they get older? You can, with Myobrace.

Please call 703-323-8200 today for an appointment with our dentist, Dr. Pamela Marzban, in Burke, VA.