Visiting the dentist as a kid is for more than just cavities

Cavities are important to address, especially in children. But what is equally as important is their jaw development (oh, and ongoing exposure to their friendly dentist 🙂). Jaw development is linked to how much space is available in a child’s mouth to house their teeth, gums, tongue and their airway. With such rapid growth occurring in the formative years before 6, the more forward a child’s jaw grows, the more available space there will be. Read on to learn if your child’s jaw might need to be assessed.

Below are some clues that you can check off to see if your child’s jaw might not be growing optimally. If you’ve ticked off four or more signs, it might be worth booking an appointment with us for a jaw development consultation.

During the night

• Can you audibly hear your child’s breathing while they sleep, even when they’re not sick?
• Is your child breathing through their mouth or does their mouth always hang open while asleep?
• Does your child toss and turn, or wake frequently throughout the night?
• Can you hear your child grinding their teeth (think a “squeak squeak” sound)?
• Does your child wet the bed at an age beyond what is expected?

During the day

• Does your child feel sleepy during the day?
• Does your child display disruptive behaviour?
• Is your child breathing through their mouth, or does their mouth always hang open throughout the day?

Physical signs

• Does your child have dark circles under their eyes?
• Does your child have a gummy smile?
• Does your child have crooked teeth?
• Are there any speech or feeding issues?
• Does your child have a history of recurring sinus or ear infections?
• Are your child’s lips always dry?

What do these signs have to do with my child’s jaw development?

Your child’s jaw grows forward and wider if it’s correctly guided by equal pressure of their tongue, teeth and lips – this is achieved when your child breathes through their nose most of the time. We know young children get sick often (daycare bugs are a whole other story) and respiratory viruses will no doubt block their noses and make them breathe through their mouths.

However, perpetually breathing through their mouth is not normal. When their mouth hangs open, the tongue no longer sits against the upper palate of their mouth. The absence of the tongue’s pressure will lead to the upper palate/jaw to narrow instead of widen, and become highly arched instead of flat. This leads to less space available for their teeth, tongue and airway (including their nasal passage).

When the roof of your child’s mouth is narrow and/or highly arched, their nose (which sits just above their upper palate) also has less space available for them to effectively breathe in and out. Other issues that may also impact their nasal passages include enlarged tonsils, adenoids or turbinates, or even a deviated septum.

Your child may then be stuck in a vicious cycle of mouth breathing and incorrect jaw development (narrow instead of wide). The flow-on effects include less space for their teeth, inadequate oxygen intake overnight leading to poor non-restorative sleep, headaches from grinding etc.

Here’s how we can help

At Limitless Dental, most of our dentists and team are parents of small and school-aged children. We understand how important oral hygiene is for our little ones, as well as how important restorative sleep is each night. Knowing that there is a link between how our kids’ jaws develop and how much quality sleep they can get makes us so passionate about helping those around us. It’s not even about crooked teeth. It really comes down to getting our kids to breathe and sleep better!

During our consult, we will check:

• Jaw position and general oral hygiene
• If they can comfortably breathe through their nose
• For any visible enlargement of tonsils
• Tongue or lip ties
• If they breathe noisily overnight, particularly if it’s through their mouth

If there is an issue with their jaw development airway, we will:

• Write a referral for an ENT assessment
• Write a referral for a myofunctional therapist
• Propose a treatment plan depending on their age, which may include palate expansion to restore the natural growth trajectory of their jaw

If you’re concerned about your child’s smile, breathing or sleep, book a consultation with one of our friendly dentists! You can call our team on 9569 8091 or book an appointment online via our website.