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Braces for childrens teeth Milton Keynes

Myobrace Treatment Means You Can Say No To Traditional Braces

8th October 2019/in News /by Yvonne Poole

Did you know that nearly 75% of children will need braces or orthodontic work before they are 13 years old?

It’s quite staggering really. But this is the age where the adult teeth have all grown in, and that period of change can cause a lot of problems in healthy jaw and bite development, including malocclusions. For a lot of children, this means having metal braces fitted to their teeth, to be lived with for months or even years to treat any number of malocclusions in their teeth. But what are malocclusions, and is there a way to treat them without traditional braces?

What Is A Malocclusion?

If we’re being technical, a malocclusion is defined as: ‘A misalignment or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches when they approach each other as the jaws close.’ But if we’re speaking in plain English, it’s just the specialists’ word for crooked teeth or a misalignment of your teeth when you bite. There are a number of different forms malocclusion can take, and they are all pretty common, particularly in children.

Malocclusions can take the form of:

  • Overcrowding: A very common issue caused by a lack of space for the teeth in the jaw. This causes the teeth to become crooked and overlap. It’s the single most common reason for orthodontic work in adults.
  • Overjet: An overjet is where your top teeth extend past your bottom teeth horizontally (not to be confused with an overbite). The teeth protruding into your check can cause some problems with eating and speech.
  • Overbite: Ideally there should be a little bit of overlap from the upper to the lower teeth, in some cases the upper row of teeth go out too far, resulting in an overbite.
  • Crossbite: A crossbite is where your upper teeth come down inside your lower teeth. This can happen just on one side, at the front, back or even all over your jaw.
  • Anterior crossbite (underbite): This particular type of crossbite only affects the front teeth, and displays the opposite problem to an overbite, with the lower teeth jutting out past the upper ones.
  • Spacing: Spacing can occur between two or more teeth across your whole jaw. Some of the causes of spacing include missing teeth, small teeth, tongue thrusting and thumb sucking.
  • Diastema: A diastema is the space between two teeth, usually at the front (think of the famous Rimmel London model).
  • Impacted tooth: Impacted teeth aren’t able to come through the gums normally (known as eruption), and so get stuck. To treat this you may need to have the tooth removed, or have it exposed so that a brace can be fitted.
  • Missing tooth: Missing teeth can develop as a result of trauma, or the teeth could simply not develop properly and never erupt.

The Importance Of Early Intervention

On average, 2 out of 4 children will have or develop a malocclusion at some point in their childhood. For some, it will be the result of habits, such as thumb sucking, while others will be caused by adult teeth growing in and causing problems. If left unchecked, these small problems can grow and cause real dental issues as an adult, requiring extensive and usually very expensive treatment. However, if they are treated early, from the age of around, then the treatment can help the child’s teeth grow naturally into the correct formation. This means improved facial development, less pain and difficulty doing normal things like chewing or breathing through the mouth, and a decrease in bad oral habits like snoring and tongue thrusting. It also means a lot of money and time saved on orthodontic treatments in the future.

How Does Myobrace Help?

The Myobrace system has been designed as an alternative to the traditional, bulky braces of old. Instead, it’s a preventative pre-orthodontic treatment that focuses on addressing the underlying causes of crooked teeth – such as poor oral habits or abnormal development. It’s a series of appliances which have been proven to correct the habits of poor dental development while providing light forces to realign teeth into their natural positioning. Rather than wearing braces of complicated uncomfortable dental appliances 24 hours a day, the Myobrace system only needs to be work for one or two hours a day and overnight while sleeping. Combined with a series of ‘myofunctional exercises’ also known as ‘trainer activities’, the Myobrace can completely eliminate the need for invasive orthodontal work in the future. The Myobrace is best suited for children aged 3 to 15, but can be used to treat adults if needed, and is the perfect way to naturally correct crooked teeth.

At the Appledore Dental Clinic, Dr Teresa Day is an expert in fitting and treating with the Myobrace system. When the warning signs of malocclusion are spotted at your child’s regular check-up, your Appledore dentist will refer you to Dr Teresa who can perform an evaluation to see if your child is suitable for Myobrace treatment.

With our help, your child can avoid having uncomfortable braces fitted, and instead enjoy a simple dental correction while going about life as usual. For more information, please get in touch with the clinic today and book your consultation.

https://cosmeticdentistmk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Myobrace-blog.jpg 480 720 Yvonne Poole https://cosmeticdentistmk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Appledore-Dental-Clinic-Logo-HiRes-1.png Yvonne Poole2019-10-08 17:49:022020-11-16 12:27:19Myobrace Treatment Means You Can Say No To Traditional Braces
myobrace dentist milton keynes

Dental Problems In Children – Thumb Sucking, Tongue Thrusting And More

10th July 2019/in News /by Yvonne Poole

The early years are probably some of the most important when it comes to dental hygiene and overall oral health. The way children’s teeth erupt, grow and are cared for can have a lifelong impact, from determining where their adult teeth will sit in their jaw, to their colour and strength. Unfortunately, there are a number of problems that can affect the oral health of children including tooth decay, thumb sucking and early tooth loss. These conditions can impact the strength of their adult teeth, cause pain and even lead to speech difficulties as they grow up. So even though baby teeth are eventually replaced with permanent adult teeth, it’s still important to keep baby teeth healthy. Today, we wanted to share the 3 most common dental problems that occur in children, and some tips to avoid them.

Baby Bottle Tooth Decay – Baby bottle tooth decay is pretty much what it sounds like – tooth decay in very small children. It’s also known as early childhood caries, nursing caries and nursing bottle syndrome, and happens when a baby’s teeth are in regular contact with sugars. These sugars can come from any number of things, from fruit juices and milk, formula, diluted fruit juice, sugar water or any other sweet drink. It can set in with very young children – even those who are being breastfed. Often a baby will fall asleep with un-swallowed milk in its mouth after feeding, and this provides a breeding ground for the bacteria that feed on sugars in the milk and cause tooth decay. If baby bottle tooth decay is left untreated, it can cause pain and difficulty chewing and swallowing in the short term.

In the long term, it can cause problems for adult teeth growing in. A child’s baby teeth are essentially acting as ‘space savers’ for the adult teeth. But if those baby teeth are damaged or destroyed, then they can’t guide the adult teeth into the right position. Best case scenario this means crooked adult teeth that will cost money to straighten, and at worst it can cause an abscessed tooth, and that infection can spread elsewhere in the body.

Luckily there are a few ways to avoid baby bottle tooth decay. To start with, during the day try to avoid giving your baby milk or sugary drinks to calm it – instead give plain water of a dummy. If you are giving a dummy, make sure you don’t dip it in sugar, honey or any other kind of sugary liquid to make them take it. If your baby is nursing at night, make sure to remove your breast from the baby’s mouth when it falls asleep, and use a wet cloth or gauze to wipe the baby’s teeth and gums after each feeding to reduce the risk of plaque build-up.

When a child no longer requires a night feed, only allow water in a bottle as a pacifier at night.

Thumb Sucking – This one has been plaguing parents for decades, and probably will for decades to come, because there is no easy answer. It’s common and actually healthy for infants to suck their thumbs, dummies and even toys. Sucking on objects is a key part of learning to self-comfort, so it shouldn’t be discouraged altogether. The problems happen when thumb sucking continues past the age of around 5, when the adult teeth are coming in and the sucking can cause real damage. Depending on how often, hard and long your child is sucking their thumb, their teeth could be pushed out of alignment (giving them an overbite), the roof of the mouth could become malformed or the upper and lower jaws could become misaligned, which will lead to pain and speech problems in later life.

If your child is sucking their thumb past the age of around 5, you should try to encourage them away from it. But remember that thumb sucking is a security mechanism, so negative reinforcement like telling off or punishment won’t work. Instead, try giving rewards and praise for successfully avoiding it the habit. For children who need reminders, you can try covering the thumb with a plaster, and make sure you take your child’s thumb out of their mouth once they’ve fallen asleep. If the sucking continues, look into why your child is doing it. Find out what stresses they are facing and try to remove them – the habit will often disappear when the stress does!

Tongue Thrusting – Tongue thrusting is less common and is the habit of sealing the mouth for swallowing by thrusting the top of the tongue forward against the lips. Just like thumb sucking, this puts pressure against the front teeth, pushing them out of alignment and causing an overbite or speech problems. If you see your child doing this, we advise you speak to a dentist (to check there is no dental reason for this), and if that’s all clear, a speech pathologist, who will help develop a treatment plan to strengthen your child’s chewing muscles and develop a new swallowing pattern.

Tongue thrusting is a retained infantile tongue movement. It should be corrected early on with Myobrace otherwise it can affect how the jaw grows.

Good Oral Health – Of course, there are many more dental and oral health problems that can occur in children. Some are basic oral hygiene and healthcare related, while others can be indicators of underlying conditions. The important thing is to ensure you are promoting good oral health to your children from an early age.At Appledore we work with children’s teeth every day, and can give you advice on caring for their teeth, teaching them to brush and floss properly and even spot early signs of dental problems. If you’d like to know more, just book your appointment today.

https://cosmeticdentistmk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/shutterstock_305327297-e1605525384342.jpg 600 900 Yvonne Poole https://cosmeticdentistmk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Appledore-Dental-Clinic-Logo-HiRes-1.png Yvonne Poole2019-07-10 17:43:082019-08-02 16:28:27Dental Problems In Children – Thumb Sucking, Tongue Thrusting And More

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Day’s Clinics Limited trading as Appledore Dental Clinic with its registered address at 376 Midsummer Boulevard Milton Keynes, MK9 2EA. Appledore Dental Clinic is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is entered on the Financial Services Register, reference number 926713.

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