What are the most common causes of combined osteopathic and orthodontic surgery?
It is increasingly common for orthodontists to request osteopathic evaluation and treatment before placing any orthodontic appliance on a pediatric patient. It is increasingly common for orthodontists to have an osteopath directly in their office with whom they collaborate and who has their contact name.
What are the cases in which this interdisciplinarity is generally used?
• Crowded and out of place teeth - in this situation the teeth overlap each other and do not grow straight and stably: the earlier the evaluation, the simpler and more decisive the intervention becomes.
• Eruption or abnormal loss - The teeth come out in the wrong place or badly, for example rotated (very often the canines), they come out early due to a cavity or fall out late: the alignment/occlusion of the permanent teeth can be altered.
• Incorrect closure - if for example, the arches do not close well, and the relationships between the mandible and maxilla are altered with the maxillae positioned too far forward, an orofacial imbalance may occur which requires an early evaluation.
• Breathing difficulties - in mouth breathers there is a greater risk of the jaw protruding forward. In these cases it is also a good idea to investigate bruxism
• Dysfunctional swallowing and sucking - when the tongue comes between the dental arches or the child sucks the finger, the pacifier, but also pens or pencils, dental and arch asymmetries are facilitated.
After the osteopathic evaluation and treatment, any orthodontic appliances serve to resolve structural problems and significant malocclusions, such as cross or open bites, and generally rely only on the permanent molars or involve mobile devices, for example for night use.
If the most serious defects have already been resolved with the mixed or single intervention, all that needs to be done is to improve the alignment and the possibilities are many, from appliances with transparent aesthetic attachments, up to internal attachments, invisible but a little more painful because of the continuous lingual contact. Another possibility are transparent masks, which can solve many situations but must be worn at all times, apart from meals. To obtain good results, the contribution of the patient and family, for hygiene and correct maintenance of the device, is essential.
Valentina Carlile - Osteopath expert in Osteopathy applied to voice and speech disorders since 2002. For information and reservations visit the page Contacts