A Parent’s Guide to Whole Health Orthodontics
A healthy mouth – infection-free with a balanced bite – is vital to whole health. Optimal child development must include dental/facial alignment as the foundation for creating mouth/body health.
Guiding the development of a Holistic Mouth is creating the conditions for facial radiance, an energetic aura, and an attractive appearance. Supporting that is a balanced framework of skull and facial bones, jaws, and teeth – a home for the brain, eyes, ears, sinuses, tongue, and throat.
The bite is a surface sign of the bony organization under the face. The human body develops from the head down. Straight teeth and wide dental arches means smooth and full genetic expression. Crowded teeth and facial asymmetry signals a less favorable future medically and dentally.
Timing is Everything!
Timing is everything in sports, politics, business – and helping children grow into fully actualized young adults with brains and beauty through cranially-based orthodontics. Ages 7 to 9 are ideal for an initial cranial/dental/facial evaluation.
Many an adult patient comes to us for help with chronic headaches, neck and back pain, TMJ troubles, and ever more complicated dental problems resulting from a lifetime of unrecognized and thus untreated cranial and orofacial distortions. But this needn’t be the fate of your child or grandchild. Early intervention can set the stage for a brighter, healthier future, including
- Avoiding extraction of permanent teeth or jaw surgery.
- Preventing cranial, dental, and TMJ problems (and their associated costs).
- Growing into full potential, physically, academically, athletically, and socially.
- Living a healthy and enjoyable life with far fewer health complications.
- Feeling and looking like a winner.
Timely treatment generally begins in pre-puberty: before age 8 for girls and before age 10 for boys, although orthodontic assessments should be done earlier (by age 6 for girls and age 7 for boys). This lets Dr. Felix coordinate treatment with the growth spurts that come during puberty.
Recognize the Early Sirens
The possibility of future health troubles can be told through various features in the mouth and face. While the qualities listed below don’t guarantee a future of illness, science has shown that they don’t bode well for a future of vibrant health.
- Allergies
- Mouth breathing
- Dry lips
- Headaches
- Ear aches, stuffiness, or recurrent infections
- Frequent colds
- Inflamed tonsils
- Broken nose or head trauma
- ADHD
- Prolonged struggle in birth canal
- Colicky early years or spit-ups with feeding
- Forward positioned head (ears in front of shoulders)
- Uneven ears or eyes
- Narrow nostrils or a deviated nose
- Weak chin
- Slumped posture
- Deep chin cleft
- Gummy smile
- Long “horsey” face
- Broad, flat face
- “Fish mouth” lips in profile
- Teeth grinding before age 6
- Persistent thumb sucking
- Crowded or crooked front teeth
- Open bite (space between upper and lower teeth for thumb or tongue)
- Deep bite (upper front teeth overlaps more than half of lower front teeth)
- Cross bite (upper teeth fit behind lower teeth when mouth is closed)
- Mismatched midlines of the front teeth
- Premature loss of baby teeth without space maintainer care
- Clicking or popping jaw joints
- Zig-zag jaw opening instead of straight/smooth
A Holistic Mouth Checkup Is the Place to Start
The best time to set the foundation straight is before age 9 – or, as leading orthodontic instructor Dr. Jay Gerber puts it, “Every orthodontic case started after age 12 is a compromise.”
As a parent, Dr. Felix wanted his children to grow up with excellent health and bright futures ahead. That’s why he created the Whole Health Kids program, which combines the teachings of Dr. Weston Price, Dr. A.C. Fonder, and other dental research pioneers with 21st century science and technology for optimal dental/facial development.
A Holistic Mouth Checkup is the place to start. Earlier is always better – especially if you recognize any of the early sirens above – but before age 7 is best. At this appointment, Dr. Felix will evaluate your child’s dental/facial development. We will take complete baseline records that include x-rays, dental molds, and clinical photos.
He will then review his findings and recommendations with you on treatment options. He will also give his best advice on sound nutrition, sustaining a sensible lifestyle, and referrals to like-minded health professionals if needed.
Early recognition and correction beats a cure later!