Children's Dentistry & Growth
Their teeth, jaws, tongue, muscles, breathing patterns, habits, sleep, and facial
development are all changing as they grow.
Healthy Teeth Are Important. Healthy Development Is the Bigger Picture.
Children aren’t simply smaller adults.
Their teeth, jaws, tongue, muscles, breathing patterns, habits, sleep, and facial
development are all changing as they grow.
That’s why our pediatric approach looks beyond whether your child’s teeth are cavity-free.
We want to protect their teeth today while also paying attention to how the mouth and face are
developing for the future.
Explore:
● Natural Pediatric Dentistry
● Airway & Growth Screening
● Myofunctional & Habit Programs
● Myo Munchee®
● Froggymouth®
● Myobrace®
● Early & Growth-Focused Orthodontics
● Tongue- & Lip-Tie Evaluation
● Conservative Restorative Dentistry
● Pediatric Sedation Options
Natural Pediatric Dentistry
- Our goal is to help children build a positive relationship with dentistry while developing healthy habits that can last for years. Visits may include preventive care, gentle cleanings, cavity-risk evaluation, nutrition and home-care guidance, growth monitoring, and personalized treatment when needed.
Airway & Growth Screening
- Your child's face is still under construction. Breathing, tongue posture, chewing, swallowing, sleep, and oral habits all contribute to the environment in which the jaws and face develop. When we notice clues such as mouth breathing, snoring, grinding, crowding, a narrow palate, poor tongue posture, or restless sleep, we may recommend a more detailed airway and growth evaluation. Dental screening does not diagnose sleep apnea or nasal obstruction, so collaboration with pediatricians, ENTs, sleep physicians, therapists, and other providers may be recommended when appropriate.
Myofunctional & Habit Programs
- Sometimes the first step isn't braces. It may be helping a child learn how to chew, breathe, swallow, rest the tongue, and use the oral muscles more effectively.
- Depending on age and individual needs, our programs may incorporate tools such as:
- Myo Munchee® — guided chewing and oral-muscle activity to support healthy oral function.
- Froggymouth® a functional training appliance that may be used when working on tongue position, swallowing patterns, and oral muscle habits.
- Myobrace® — a removable appliance system that may be incorporated into treatment for oral habits, tongue posture, nasal-breathing habits, and developing dental alignment.
- These appliances are not interchangeable. We select the approach based on the child's age, development, bite, airway, habits, and functional needs.
Early & Growth-Focused Orthodontics
- Straight teeth are only one part of orthodontic care.
During growth, we also evaluate:
● Space for developing teeth
● Dental arch development
● Bite relationships
● Tongue space
● Oral habits
● Jaw growth
● Breathing and function
- Sometimes the best approach is simply to monitor. Other children may benefit from early orthodontic treatment, expansion, myofunctional therapy, or a combination of approaches while growth is still occurring.
Tongue- & Lip-Tie Care
- A restricted tongue or lip frenulum can sometimes affect feeding, tongue mobility, swallowing, speech, oral hygiene, or myofunctional patterns. We evaluate function—not simply appearance. When appropriate, we collaborate with lactation consultants, speech-language pathologists, myofunctional therapists, and other healthcare providers before determining whether a frenectomy may be helpful.
- Conservative Pediatric Restorations
- When a cavity does need treatment, our goal is simple:
- Remove what needs treatment. Preserve as much healthy tooth as possible.
- Depending on the tooth and size of the cavity, options may include tooth-colored restorations, carefully selected restorative materials, crowns, or other pediatric restorative treatments. We also consider the child's cavity risk and oral environment so we're not only repairing today's cavity—we're working to reduce the chance of another one developing.
When Your Child Needs a Little More Help
For some children, dental treatment can feel overwhelming.
Age, anxiety, sensory needs, previous dental experiences, treatment complexity, and the
amount of care needed can all affect how comfortably a child can complete treatment.
We begin with gentle communication and behavior-guidance techniques whenever possible.
When appropriate, sedation may also be an option to help selected children safely complete
necessary dental treatment. The type of sedation and whether it is appropriate are determined
individually based on the child’s health, age, treatment needs, and level of anxiety.
Our goal is to provide the care your child needs while protecting their comfort,
safety, and relationship with dentistry.