When it comes to correcting the alignment of teeth, the thought of an expander or some kind of headgear device sometimes conjures up images of medieval torture – or at the very least, a bulky, uncomfortable device. With the right experience and today’s technology, that process is much more reasonable, and comfortable. One of our younger patients illustrates this new technology quite well.
Patient. An 8-year-old came to us via a recommendation from his dentist. He had a complete crossbite – which means that all of his upper teeth were inside his lower teeth.
Problem. Such a complete crossbite can negatively affect the growth of a child’s jaw. For that reason, it’s important to correct crossbites at an early age. When a patient with a crossbite comes to us, it’s important for us to make room in his/her mouth.
Solution. When the doctors at Baltimore Orthodontic Group first saw this 8-year-old, we recognized that our first course of action was to make ROOM for growth! While you can see by the string of photos below that the need for room was fairly drastic, we were able to start working on this patient using ONE simple appliance to correct his crossbite while bringing his upper teeth forward.
The Process. With time, the appliance used for this patient allowed space for his adult teeth to come in.Once all of the adult teeth erupted in this patient’s mouth, we then placed him in braces to straighten and align his smile.
Results. Before too long, and without enduring crazy mechanical contraptions, this patent had no more crossbite and we were able to remove his braces. Even better, we caught the problem early – the patient isn't even in high school yet!
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