8 signs of impaired development of the facial skeleton in children

Crowded teeth

• One of the most common reasons for going to the orthodontist is crowding of the teeth. The cause of the problem is insufficient jaw growth, when the size of the teeth does not match the size and length of the dental arches. In the absence of treatment in childhood, patients subsequently have serious problems that are not always possible to cope with using the bracket system, namely:
• Jaw growth occurs only in children, it is impossible to stimulate jaw growth in adults. An improperly formed jaw of small size is not able to accommodate all the teeth and they are crowded. As a result, some permanent teeth may need to be removed to make room.
• The duration of orthodontic treatment in adults in severe cases can reach 2,5 years. At the same time, achieving the perfect result is sometimes impossible. At the same time, it takes much less time for children from 9 to 18 months to correct the bite.
• Blood supply to the brain with jaw growth deficiency worsens. The volume of the upper respiratory tract decreases, which leads to a decrease in the level of blood circulation in the brain by 10-15%. For this reason, headaches often occur, chronic fatigue and difficulties with performing long-term mental work appear.
• If the jaw ratio is incorrect, the teeth wear out unevenly and too quickly. Enamel is not restored and there is a need to cover the teeth with crowns or veneers.
• Social pressure and constant anxiety. It is known that the majority of people with the wrong bite are few or do not smile at all, because they are embarrassed by their smiles and behave rather closed in society. It is difficult to enjoy life when you are uncomfortable smiling.

Forward jaw

This (too large lower jaw) jaw structure is found in 3-7% of the population and is quite difficult to treat. Nevertheless, during the period of active growth of the jaw bones, it is possible to change the direction of bone growth in a favorable direction, thereby ensuring the correct closing of the teeth and a harmonious facial profile.

The forward lower jaw, why should this be removed?

In patients with a too large lower jaw, problems of a psychological nature arise, especially in girls, the face profile becomes aggressive, it is difficult to bite and chew food. There is also the likelihood of damage to the head of the temporomandibular joint as a result of trauma to the joint, the occurrence of pain during chewing, the displacement of the articular disc, the appearance of clicks in the joint, the inability to fully chew food quality, there may be problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Treatment occurs with the use of a facial mask to extend the upper jaw and the installation of bracket systems with elastic traction.

Lower jaw pushed back

One of the most common problems in adults and children is a too small lower jaw. More than 50% of children have some form of distal bite in which the lower jaw does not grow to its normal size and remains pushed inward, which significantly affects the shape of the face, worsening it.

In addition, the retracted jaw leads to increased pressure on the tissues of the temporomandibular joint, thereby causing its chronic trauma and permanent inflammation. The problems of patients with a small lower jaw are an uncertain expression on their face, and it is difficult to bite and chew food.

Open bite

As a rule, an open bite is formed due to the child’s bad habit of laying his tongue between the front and lower teeth, or due to the proliferation of adenoids, which make it impossible or problematic nasal breathing, forcing the child to breathe through the mouth. Biting off food becomes impossible, and a constantly open mouth leads to overdrying of the mucosa and the development of microorganisms dangerous to health.

An open bite is treated with surgical methods, orthognathic operations in combination with bracket systems, in some cases, the use of dental microimplants is possible. In children, correction is possible using plate devices.

Cross bite

Another manifestation of the improper development of the jaws is a cross bite, which may be caused by insufficient transverse or anteroposterior growth of the upper or lower jaw. In the photographs below you can see how the side cross bite and the side cross bite are aligned with the front cross bite.

Why is cross bite needed?

In the absence of treatment for cross bite, persistent displacement of the lower jaw occurs, which leads to damage to the articular head with all the ensuing consequences. In treatment, devices are used to expand the upper jaw, which complement the bracket systems.

Violation of posture, the child breathes through the mouth

An incorrect bite and a displaced jaw lead to compensatory reactions in the body, in which there is stoop, curvature of the spine and pain in the back and neck. Mouth breathing is formed when there are problems with the nose, for example, in the case of chronic chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane and with the proliferation of adenoid tissue. In such cases, the normal development of the jaw is impossible and to eliminate the problem it is necessary to conduct treatment in parallel with an otolaryngologist and an orthodontist.

Why is orthodontic treatment necessary?

In the process of development and growth of the child, the lower jaw increases in a horizontal or vertical direction. The goal of orthodontic treatment is to stimulate the growth of the jaw in the right direction, which corresponds to the structure of the facial skeleton. More than half of children aged 6 to 15 years have abnormalities in the development of the jaw.

When to start orthodontic treatment?

The best time to start treatment on orthodontic appliances (plates) is a period of 6 to 13 years, since at this age the bones of the facial skeleton and jaws grow most actively and their maximum compliance is observed.

How is the treatment carried out?

Today in the arsenal of an orthodontist there are two types of equipment:

• non-removable devices, which with dental cement through the rings are fixed on the teeth and cannot be removed
• removable plate devices that can be removed while eating.

The choice of apparatus depends on the specific clinical situation and is selected individually. Choosing the right apparatus, you can achieve amazing results (changes in the facial skeleton and profile). The photo shows the changes in the profile obtained by normalizing the growth of the jaws.

How long does it take to normalize jaw growth?

In the photographs presented above, in the first case, the active period of treatment with removable equipment was 16 months, in the second 14 months. In general, the average duration of treatment is 1.5-2 years.

What to do if early orthodontic treatment was not carried out and the growth of the jaws occurred in the wrong direction? In some cases, this situation significantly complicates the treatment and talking about achieving the ideal result is already much more difficult, and sometimes completely impossible.

What are the consequences of improper jaw growth?

The first photo shows the jaw of an adult 18-year-old patient whose jaw is no longer growing. Parents did not know about the need for treatment of the child at the orthodontist, he never underwent treatment on devices (plates) and the teeth simply did not have enough room for growth.