Habits are learned pattern of muscle contraction of a complex nature. Some abnormal oral habits interfere with the regular pattern of growth and play an important role in facial growth including dental teeth alignment.
Common oral habits that interfere with dental teeth alignment are:
1) Thumb sucking: Placement of thumb in mouth leads to tilting of front teeth and adversely affect the alignment of the teeth.
2) Tongue thrusting: Forward placement of tongue between the teeth leads to gap between top and bottom front teeth also called as proclined teeth.
3)Mouth breathing: Breathing through mouth instead of nose with evident signs of drooping of saliva while child is sleeping leads to narrow arch form and cross bite.
Management:
Treatment with habit breaking appliance helps to eliminate the cause and interception of the habit to correct the oral habit in children.
Underdeveloped or overdeveloped jaws – attention!!
A disproportion in the size or position of the jaws results in a skeletal discrepancy like:
- Over-developed upper jaw (gummy smile and large maxilla)
- Under-developed small lower jaw (Deficient and retruded mandible)
- Over-developed lower jaw (excessive and large mandible)
- Under-developed upper jaw (deficient and small maxilla)
Management :
These problems can be treated by growth modification appliances. These appliances are most effective during the mixed dentition period (7-12 years) as it takes advantage of the prepubertal growth period.
Advantage of growth modification appliances like Myofunctional appliances, headgears and chin cups helps to stretch the muscles and soften the tissues. It also helps to change the amount and direction of growth of the jaws and difference in facial size and proportions.
Developing dental cross bite: preventive measures!!
There can be either front protruding (reverse bite) or back protruding teeth in cross bite. These developing cross bites in children should be interrupted and treated at an early stage so as to prevent a major progressing dento-facial anomaly like:
- Upper constricted / narrow maxillary arch
- Deviated jaws
- Midline shift
- Assymetery of face
- TMJ pain
If not treated soon, later complicated orthodontic treatment combined with surgical jaw procedures will be required.
Management:
Cross bite can be treated by expansion appliance with bite planes.
Conclusion:
We can maximise the benefits of early orthodontic treatment in growing children by elimination of oral habits to change the direction of growth of the jaw and various developing malocclusion which is the ultimate goal of orthodontic therapy. The earlier the teeth are aligned, the straighter and more stable they remain for life.
