Children’s Dentistry
Here is what to look for before visiting your dentist in Langley, BC.
The best thing you can do for your child is to carefully observe and watch the way their teeth are developing.
Contact your Langley, BC dentist if you notice your child has the following:
If you have concerns, you should consult a doctor who is trained to recognize and treat these complex developmental issues. Early intervention is critical! It is vital to diagnose and treat growth and development issues as early as possible. Once a child’s growth spurt is over in their early teens, the potential to correct the developmental issues become severely limited.
As your partner in Langley, BC dentistry, we look for the signs and risks of underdeveloped jaws. Underdeveloped jaws are typically not properly aligned with each other. They can even create an imbalance in the musculoskeletal structure of the head and neck.
As the body tries to compensate for this imbalance, the result is painful joints and sore, tired muscles. This can lead to a future of chronic head and neck aches.
Early Signs of Sleep Apnea
One of the most significant risks poor orthopedic jaw development can pose to your child is their breathing. Underdeveloped jaws can affect your child’s breathing patterns, eventually leading to sleep apnea.
The lack of space between small, underdeveloped jaws forces the tongue into the airway at the back of the mouth, obstructing your child’s breathing. In the worst cases, this obstruction can lead to sleep apnea, one of the most common and serious ailments affecting most Canadians today.
Signs that sleep apnea may be developing include snoring and/or gasping for air while sleeping.
Airway obstruction in children has been linked to poor health, behavioral problems, ADHD, and poor scholastic performance. When the obstruction continues into adulthood, there is an increased risk of cancer, impotence, heart attack, and stroke.
One of the most obvious signs of poor orthopedic jaw development is crooked or crowded teeth. Crowded teeth may indicate jaw growth has been restricted, preventing your child from developing to his or her full genetic potential. Crooked teeth tend to wear and fracture, as they improperly grind on each other over time.
Underdeveloped jaws tend to not line up well with each other or with the head and neck. This creates unbalanced function of the skeletal-muscular system. The result often presents itself as painful pathology of the joints and, more commonly, the muscles. Chronic headache and neck pain are the most common symptoms.
