How effective is jaw expansion for an 8 year old child with crowded teeth, and how much does it cost?

Doctor's Answers 1

It sounds like you have some concerns about your daughter’s upper tooth alignment which you suspect is due to a narrowed upper jaw (palate). Picking up this dental issue at her age is excellent because she is still growing.

Expanding the palate may be a feasible option to make more room in her jaw to accommodate all her teeth. To simplify things, you can think of the palate simply as a jigsaw puzzle, with an important suture ( a junction where growth occurs ) line running down the middle, splitting it into 2 parts - one right and one left piece.

As she grows, growth along the suture line naturally pushes the pieces further apart, causing a widening of the jaw. Dentally expanding her jaw would require the wear of an appliance that will gently push the jig-saw pieces further away from each other, intensifying the amount of growth at the suture line.

When done by a trained professional, it is very safe. Specialists like orthodontists or paediatric dentists will be suitable choices in this case.

There are several appliances that can be used for jaw expansion. Some are fixed (glued with a dental cement) to the teeth for the duration of the expansion while others are removable.

Removable appliances have the advantage of being easier to clean, especially in younger children. The variety of appliances that your daughter may choose from bear different costs, but tend to be upwards from $600.

Please know that it is important to note that a detailed examination is first needed before deciding on the best treatment for your child. Finding out why dental crowding is present is key:

  • Is the dental crowding due to her genetic tooth positioning? If so, jaw expansion may not be the best option for your daughter.
  • Is her jaw narrow? What is causing the narrowing?

In my experience, many children experience narrowing of the palate because of certain habits e.g. mouth breathing which is managed differently.

You may want to make sure that is evaluated by your dentist. Finding out the root cause of her dental crowding will ensure that she gets the right treatment for the best results!

You mentioned a procedure could be done to expand the jaw line. I’d like to address this, just in case you were referring to a surgical procedure. Surgery is more invasive and is usually not recommended especially when a child still has excellent growth potential like your daughter.

I hope that this broad overview helps answer your questions! Good luck!

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Answered By

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Answered By

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