Full Mouth Reconstruction

Orthodontic advancements continue to create new ways of correcting alignment issues without surgery and removal of permanent teeth.

Orthodontists use jaw widening procedures to expand the upper jaw so it can better accommodate a patient's permanent teeth and to prevent the need for future tooth extractions. Jaw widening also can prevent the need for other surgeries often performed to address the problem of overcrowding.

The jaw widening procedure involves pushing the back teeth slightly outward by fitting a metal device into the roof of the patient's mouth.

Once it is in place, a key is turned every other day to widen the jaw at .25 mm intervals. The process takes several weeks to complete and it is relatively painless because the upper jaw remains formable and soft up to about age 16.

The jaw consists of two palatal bones attached by a stretchable membrane. As a child grows, this membrane calcifies and turns into bone after puberty.

Because of that, the non-surgical jaw expansion can only be done on children who have not reached puberty.

Although not painful, some patients complain of food getting stuck in the expander, increased salivation, speech impediments, soreness of the tongue from it coming into contact with the expander's metal bars and slight difficulty swallowing. These temporary conditions usually go away within a few days.

A palatal expander often is used to correct posterior crossbites and crowding. A posterior crossbite is when the upper jaw does not fit around the lower jaw.

The upper jaw is supposed to be wider than the lower jaw so that the patient's upper teeth rest outside of the lower teeth.

Children with crossbites should be treated early.

This is particularly important for early intervention that can prevent the need for surgery down the road.

There are many, many non-surgical treatment options in orthodontics that can correct problems- the key is diagnosing those problems and treating them early enough.

It is particularly important to address crossbites early on because this form of malocclusion can cause the jaw to grow off center.

Jaw widening also can correct crowding problems by enlarging the circumference in the area of the front teeth. This increased area provides room for crowded teeth to be properly aligned.

Other signs that may indicate that jaw widening is needed include: 
o The upper jaw is very small and narrow 
o Trouble breathing 
o Large tonsils 
o Large adenoids 
o Hereditary problems 
o Tongue thrusting habits 
o Thumb sucking habits

These problems and habits might prevent the upper jaw from developing naturally, which could result in a small, narrow upper jaw forming.

Jaw Expansion Surgery 
In some cases, patients may have to undergo surgery to  orthodontist los angelesproperly expand the upper jaw and correct malocclusion if the issue was not addressed early enough. Surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion is the type of procedure required to surgically expand a patient's upper jaw.

The SARPE procedure typically takes about an hour and is performed by an oral surgeon.