A great smile involves a lot more care for structure than you might think for both kids and a adults. A smile That is bright and white on its surface can be plagued by structural problems that cause pain, including dental arches.
What is a Dental Arch?
The term “dental arch” refers to the structure of our mouths that hold our teeth in place. The photo on the right details a dental arch for an adult. Ideally, these arches are wide enough to allow for the healthy development and eruption of permanent teeth.
There are times when we see our younger patients with normal size lower arches and narrow upper arches. This type of alignment, if allowed to continue through child growth and development, will create harmful forces on the teeth that will put the teeth at risk, causing breakage, loosening, or even tooth loss. To be healthy in childhood and adulthood, teeth need to fit together in order to function well overall.
Teeth Alignment for Children
At Klamath Falls Dental Specialists, we see children who are are losing baby teeth and gaining new permanent teeth. Many of these children would benefit from orthodontic appliances to help them develop their dental arches. This will allow their teeth to erupt into an ideal alignment.
In the case of a narrow arch, there are orthodontic appliances, such as a simple dental arch expander, that can be used to gently widen the arch over time in order to provide an ideal bite relationship.
Early intervention using pediatric orthodontic techniques and appliances can prevent potential problems and condition requiring braces and additional orthodontic treatment. If orthodontic treatment is started as children are younger, they tend to be less self-conscious about the process while creating arches that are ideal for teeth alignment. In addition, arch widening can be easily completed during the elementary school years for both boys and girls. After that stage, however, it becomes very difficult to accomplish arch widening and different action must be taken to provide a stable foundation and ideal tooth alignment.
Additional Benefits of Arch Widening
There are also benefits for arch widening that includes better airflow through the nasal passages, resulting from widening of the nasal passages. This increase in oxygen helps children thrive, allowing them to pay more attention in school and, research has shown, achieve higher IQ testing.
Dr. Neil Walle and his staff at Klamath Falls Dental Specialists provide excellent preventative dental care for kids of all ages. To determine if your child is a good candidate for dental arch widening, call Klamath Falls Dental Specialists at (541) 884-8668 or contact us through this form for your personal appointment.