Orthodontics and Children’s Health

A major shift needs to take place for the orthodontic profession. Treatment needs to be centered around the total health of the child and not just straightening crooked teeth.

A ten-year-old girl, who was in the middle of orthodontic treatment, presented for evaluation. She had a zero-second brain cycle and a tight neck. She had eight red flags that, in the future, orthodontists need to be aware of that are now missed.

She had finished her appliance phase, and her orthodontist was waiting for more permanent teeth to erupt before applying braces. I am going through each red flag:

1. She had difficulty breastfeeding and had a tongue tie release on day two. She had reflux, colic, gas and constipation—the whole fussy baby gamut. In my perfect world, I would have gotten her strain free at birth to see if she really needed that surgery. This history would have tipped off the orthodontist that there were oral problems from birth trauma. The new normal will be that dentistry and orthodontics start at birth.
2. She was a mouth breather. This would have alerted the orthodontist that there were possible airway issues.
3. She had trouble falling asleep. This is the hallmark for a baby or child with a zero-second brain cycle. Her sympathetic nervous system was running the show.
4. She was tired all of the time. When is a ten-year-old ever tired? Mom felt she did not feel rested when she awakened.
5. She had a tongue thrust and needed myofunctional therapy. The tongue tie revision at birth never addressed the oral fascial strain.
6. The ENT said her adenoids and tonsils needed to come out. Did anyone say an airway issue and obstruction?
7. She was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Are you connecting the dots? Remember she was only ten years old.
8. She complained of neck pain. Most likely she was predisposed with neck birth trauma.

So with all of these issues at ten years of age, her orthodontist wanted to move forward and put braces, creating more restriction, on her teeth. Really?

If the goal is a healthy child, all of these issues need to be cleared first before any orthodontics commences. It is time that orthodontists need to think how their work can be part of a child’s overall health plan.

Gillespie Approach Training is so needed for providers working with children. They need to have an awareness of the craniosacral fascial system and its ramifications.