Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Does your child’s chin deviate to one side? An orthodontist is trained to look for this.

The usual reason the chin is not directly under the center of the nose is that it has shifted to one side in order for the upper

and lower teeth to fit together better, due to a narrowness of the upper jaw.  The upper jaw, being just a little too narrow,

does not bite well against the lower, so a slight shift of the lower jaw to the right or left makes the bite normal on one side

and full crossbite on the other, providing more tooth contact and a sense of stability.

 

If allowed to remain, the chin may permanently grow into that unsymmetrical position.  Orthodontists are usually quite

alert to this occurrence and recommend widening the upper jaw immediately.  Once the upper jaw is widened sufficiently,

the lower jaw will usually seek equilibrium with it and the chin re-centers itself.  The widened upper jaw is best maintained

with a holding wire for an extended time, since the cause of the narrow arch may still exist.

Deviate1

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

An orthodontist invites you to look. Does your child’s chin pucker in order for the child to close their lips together?

It is common for the upper incisors to protrude. When a child swallows, the lips normally come together to form a seal,

but this seal is hard to achieve if the upper teeth protrude excessively.  The chin muscle then puckers in order to push the

lower lip up far enough to meet the upper lip, and the resulting facial expression is somewhat unattractive.

 

The  puckering of the chin muscle in order to extend the lower lip up to form a lip seal causes the lower lip muscle

to increase in size.  This increase in bulk of the lower lip will cause crowding of the lower incisors.  It can be avoided

by referral to an orthodontist experienced in treatment of young children. Treatment may include expansion of the jaws

to reduce the incisor protrusion. Or treatment may consist of correcting the incisor protrusion by advancing the lower jaw. 

 Sometimes removal of 2 or 4 teeth is desirable.  The faces created are better than if untreated and the stability of the

results is remarkable once correct jaw posture and tongue posture have been created.