Visiting our dental office (Teresa Wade, DDS-Family Dentist) for his regular 6 month children’s dental care, Edgar wanted to know what in the world  “arch expansion” is anyway!

So, come along with Edgar and me (Dr Teresa Wade) as we take a look at Arch Expansion. 

Arch expansion is used to make the horseshoe shape of the mouth bigger and therefore allow more room for the child’s teeth. I love this method because it does not require the extraction of the child’s permanent teeth. 

Now, the next question is when? Well, conveniently this research was presented by the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (Volume 149, which evaluated 54 children and their orthodontic outcomes. All the children were treated non-extraction, which is my favorite method. 

In this research, the children were divided in half: those with all their adult teeth present and those with both baby teeth and adult teeth (called mixed dentition). Those examiners were searching to see if it makes any difference if all the baby teeth are gone.

What they discovered was all children were successfully orthodontically treated with the Haas type of palatal expansion appliance without extraction of permanent teeth. The Haas appliance was followed by fixed edgewise mechanics (what we all call “braces”).  

It made no difference the dentition baby teeth or all adult teeth in the outcome. Either way the Haas type appliance made the arch fuller to accommodate all those teeth and the long term retention was exactly statistically the same.

It is my preference, to retain all the permanent teeth and use arch expanders. The outcome is so beautiful and the risk of sleep apneas in decrease for that child when they grow into adulthood. 

Edgar and I (Dr Wade) hope we have EXPANDED (pun intended) your knowledge and love for arch expansion of teeth, and that you stay away from candy, brush every single day as you should, and you come see us really soon at Teresa WadeDDS-Family Dentistry  612 Hospital Drive Andrews, TX.

Call today to make an appointment (432) 523-7782  or visit us online. 

And don't forget to EXPAND your life with goodness as it is good to be you. 

This article was written by Dr Teresa Wade, for her dental practice and the narrative or photos cannot be reproduced without her written consent.