Through early intervention, or interceptive orthodontics, we focus on working with children’s natural growth processes to intercept problematic conditions before they progress to a severe state.
This allows us to use the least invasive treatment approach with the least discomfort for your little one, and create a healthy smile in the shortest time possible.
Conditions that are left untreated into adulthood, or even into the teen years, can lead to further conditions and challenges, and require invasive methods (like jaw surgery or teeth extraction), and extended treatment lengths to correct.
When you bring your child in for an orthodontic screening before or at age 7, our highly-trained, board-certified orthodontist, Dr. Matsumoto, is able to treat these conditions while the jaws are still developing, instead of treating them after the bones have developed and stabilized.
This efficient approach allows us to reduce treatment length, minimize discomfort, and prevent vital challenges.
“Dr. Matsumoto and his staff have gone above and beyond for my 6-year-old. He is so patient and kind with my son. My son had his appliance removed a few weeks ago, and we could not be happier with the results.
Expanding his palate has helped with his breathing and chewing. We are truly fortunate to have someone of his caliber in this area. I had consultations with two other orthodontists in the area, and all I can say is that I highly recommend Dr. Matsumoto.”
By guiding the jaws and teeth into alignment in a more natural and efficient way, we can prevent significant challenges in your child’s life, including:
Airway issues are often caused by a restricted airway, due to a narrow jaw width. This narrow passageway strains the airway and hinders air flow, which can cause difficulty breathing, mouth-breathing that leads to receding chin, snoring, sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, TMJ disorder, and even behavioral issues.
Not every child needs orthodontics, but those who do will benefit for a lifetime.
To ensure the least invasive treatment route with the least discomfort for your child, it’s important that he or she receives their first orthodontic screening around age 5 or 6.
Age 5 is generally the prime time for Dr. Matsumoto to detect growth issues in the jaws and identify problematic conditions that are about to erupt.
Children’s mouths may be small, but their orthodontic issues are complex!
Many conditions are caused by space issues in the width of the jaws – whether there’s not enough room in the jaws for all teeth to emerge without crowding, overlapping or impacting each other, or too much space in the jaw, which leads to spaced or gapped teeth.
Through preemptive orthodontics, we can address spacing issues right away, guiding the jaw bones to grow to the proper width, before they potentially cause a bite misalignment (overbite/underbite) and require more extensive treatment.
Skeletal Expansion (Jaws)
In children’s orthodontic treatment, the palatal expander appliance is commonly used to widen a narrow jaw, gradually, as it’s still developing. This appliance may be worn as a part of Phase 1 Orthodontics (between ages 5 and 11) for a short period of anywhere from 3 to 6 months.
In adult orthodontics, there is a palatal expander for adults, called the maxillary skeletal expander (MSE) (worn anywhere from 6 months to 1 year) that can become necessary for untreated conditions in adulthood.
Parents, we know you want what’s best for your child! We do too.
We are your experienced children’s orthodontist here to help guide your little one’s smile into a beautiful, balanced, healthy smile that lasts for a lifetime.
Schedule your child’s first orthodontic screening with our board-certified pediatric orthodontist. Their screening is complimentary with Dr. Matsumoto and our team at Matsumoto Orthodontics & Periodontics!
Get started at our Porters Neck orthodontist office in Wilmington.