Dental Partners of Vero Beach provides Airway Orthodontics for Children in Vero Beach, FL. Call 772-569-4118 to learn more and schedule an appointment.
Airway Orthodontics for Sleep Disordered Breathing and Airway Health
Early orthodontic treatment systems allow patients to begin on their path to being the best version of themselves. Typically recommended for children between the ages of 3 and 15, the systems we provide are by themselves or used in combination with traditional orthodontics. These innovative orthodontic systems promote natural jaw and airway development and move crowded and crooked teeth into proper alignment while addressing sleep-disordered breathing, snoring, teeth grinding, and mouth breathing. Our philosophy in early orthodontics is based on non-extraction orthodontics, and our orthodontic treatments are designed using a functional method that does not involve tooth extractions. We focus on the entire oral facial system, concentrating on facial growth and development-guided therapy.
Orthodontic treatment does so much more than create beautiful, straight smiles. As sleep apnea and airway health specialists, our team at Dental Partners of Vero Beach strives to make your children’s teeth not only straighter, we partner with our patients to create healthy, strong smiles and alleviate sleep issues and airway dysfunction. We believe that if children (and adults) breathe better, they will sleep better, and they will do better.
Would Your Child Benefit from Airway Orthodontics?
At Dental Partners of Vero Beach, we take sleep apnea and airway health seriously. We provide a comprehensive assessment and a treatment plan before providing any orthodontic appliances or procedures. The following symptoms could indicate that your child may have Sleep Apnea and Airway Health Issues. To combat these symptoms, we work with patients of all ages providing Airway Orthodontic treatments, appliances, and more.
Does your child suffer from any of these symptoms? If you have answered yes to any of these symptoms, your child may be suffering from sleep apnea and airway health issues. We can help.
- Mouth breathing
- Snoring
- Chronic ear or sinus infections
- Poor school performance
- Constant lethargy
- Rapid shallow breathing
- Bedwetting
- Hyperactivity
- Nighttime restlessness
- Difficulty focusing
- Aggressive behavior
- Impatience or Moodiness
- Moodiness
Benefits of Early Orthodontics
Quality sleep. Airway orthodontics can help children get better quality sleep to feel rested and have more energy.
Improved health. The improvements in breathing due to airway orthodontics can improve a child’s overall health and wellness.
Prevent or reduce future orthodontic treatment. When airway orthodontics is applied at the right time, it can reduce or even prevent the need for future traditional orthodontic treatment.
Promote proper development of the jaw and face. Guiding the growth of the jaw starting in early childhood can treat existing problems with breathing and help the facial structure develop properly.
Why Choose Dental Partners of Vero Beach?
Dr. Schwibner specializes in Airway Health-Focused Dentistry with the goal of improving the immediate and lifelong health and wellness of patients of all ages, especially children. When airway health is addressed in early childhood, it can be easier to correct and manage as the child grows. These issues are often overlooked, but we make airway health a priority as part of the regular oral health assessments we provide. We care about our patients’ health and well-being beyond just your dental health.
Airway Orthodontic Systems and Options
Dental Partners of Vero Beach improves lives through Airway Orthodontics. Airway Orthodontics sets the foundation for the best possible shape for growth and development of a child’s mouth, jaw, and airway. This orthodontic treatment plan includes 2 Phases.
Phase 1 Orthodontics
Phase 1 Orthodontics is the first step in the orthodontic process towards a child’s healthiest smile, this process is recommended when a child still has some of their baby teeth and before all their permanent teeth have erupted. Phase 1 orthodontics uses expanders, aligners, and braces specifically designed for oral, jaw, and airway correction, as well as guidance, leading to proper growth and development.
Orthodontics will ultimately achieve a great aesthetic outcome; however, the goal in Phase 1 orthodontics is to develop a solid foundation to move forward into Phase 2.
Phase 1 Orthodontic Systems
Expanders
HealthyStart™ System
HealthyStart™ is an innovative orthodontic system that straightens teeth and improves airway function for better sleep and breathing. It is a non-invasive and natural way of straightening teeth while improving sleep-disordered breathing. Because treatment starts at a younger age than with traditional braces, it’s highly effective in influencing jaw development.
MyoBrace®
Myobrace® removable appliance employs myofunctional techniques to address poor muscular habits that can be the underlying causes of crooked teeth, and use light intermittent forces to align the teeth and develop the jaws.
Phase 2 Orthodontics
Airway Orthodontic Success for Sleep Disordered Breathing and Airway Health
Airway Orthodontics
Before and After
Front View
Airway Orthodontics
Before and After
Side View
Phase 2 Orthodontic Systems
Invisalign®
Virtually invisible, Invisalign® clear braces are an excellent alternative to metal braces. Invisalign combines the efficacy of traditional metal braces and the discretion of invisible aligners to deliver an exceptional treatment experience with results that go far beyond straight teeth.
Carriere® Bracket System
Carriere Brackets are traditional braces used in an expansive airway approach to straight teeth. Braces are never used alone but in combination with fixed expanders. With the Carriere Bracket System, teeth are moved more naturally with a low-force/low-friction passive orthodontic system. This system is typically used when compliance with a removable orthodontic system, such as Invisalign, is not possible or a child prefers the aesthetics of the traditional metal braces.
Integrative Treatments
In conjunction with the orthodontic appliances prescribed, we may suggest integrative treatments that enhance the orthodontic systems adding to the best outcomes and successful results.
Myofunctional Therapy
Oral Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) addresses disorders that interfere with the function of the muscles of the face and mouth in patients of all ages. It has been described as physical therapy for your mouth. Therapists are trained to recognize, assess, and treat orofacial myofunctional disorders. They work with patients to help with proper tongue placement, swallowing, chewing, and breathing. Myofunctional therapists work closely with healthcare providers to ensure optimal results.
Frenectomies
When the frenum, which is the band of the tissue that connects the bottom of the tongue to the floor of the mouth, is too short, thick, or tight, the tongue movement and function are restricted. This is called a tongue tie. A lip tie is where the lip is too short, or tightly attached to the upper and or lower gum tissue restricting movement and function. These conditions affect children and adults and may cause growth and development issues. Recent studies have also identified tongue and lip ties as an obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) risk factor. A minor procedure called a frenectomy can be performed to release lip or tongue ties using our LightScapel Co2 Laser.
Frequently Asked Questions About Airway Orthodontics
The goal of traditional orthodontics is to create straight teeth. However, modern orthodontic technology also allows dentists to change the shape of the jaw in coordination with moving teeth, allowing for better breathing. Airway Orthodontics is focused on treating the reason behind crooked teeth instead of just the crooked teeth themselves. Teeth are misaligned due to oral muscle dysfunction and improper breathing, leading to jaw bone underdevelopment.
By focusing on treating muscle dysfunction and establishing proper nasal breathing, we can guide the jaws into the proper position and not only straighten teeth but optimize airway development and growth in children.
The strength and position of your tongue, specifically against the upper palate of the mouth, directly influences the size and shape of your jaw and thus impacts airway health. Unfortunately, this lack of development begins potentially at birth. As a society, mothers are breastfeeding less, which reduces jaw development through nipple sucking. Toddlers are fed a diet focused on softer food, and even as adults, we consume more processed foods, both of which also reduce the need for more rigorous chewing.
As a result, our jaw composition and tongue strength are generally underdeveloped, and this can even be tracked epigenetically, as it has even been documented in utero. Tongue ties are common in newborns, which can inhibit the tongue from contributing to proper jaw development. Collaborating with a Myofunctional Therapist can train the tongue and facial muscles to regain the proper strength needed to work with other dental treatments in the fight against Sleep Disordered Breathing. Myofunctional therapy is also an important component when dentists perform a tongue tie release (frenectomy), to ensure that the tongue does not relapse back into a sub-optimal state.
Airway orthodontics treatment includes using myofunctional appliances, braces, Invisalign, palatal expanders, and myofunctional therapy to shift the teeth and jaws into proper alignment while expanding the arches to make room for the tongue in the mouth and to prevent it from collapsing into the back of the throat. Our goal is to prevent surgery by treating kids early.
Airway trained dentists feel that it is no longer acceptable to pull teeth to accommodate an underdeveloped jaw. Extracting teeth will make a small mouth even smaller, therefore limiting the space for the tongue. Orthognathic surgery may be required to bring the jaws forward if the child is not treated early enough. Airway orthodontics can prevent the need for surgery when applied at the right time.