This patient had the beginnings of crooked teeth.  We now know that by utilizing modern orthodontic techniques at as early an age as possible, many future problems can be alleviated and in some cases even totally eliminated.  For this 7 year old girl, we used a fixed retainer called a Hyrax appliance for her upper arch.  This appliance takes advantage of the natural split in the roof of the mouth by rapidly expanding in that area over a few short weeks, and then allowing the bone to fill into the space over the next few months.  For the lower arch, we used a retainer called a Schwarz appliance.  The center screw in the appliance was slowly widened over about a year's period.  This changes the shape of the actual jawbone during an active growth period.  This expansion of the jawbone allows for more room for the teeth and will either eliminate the need for extracting permanent teeth or may even totally eliminate the need for braces later on.

This is the five year follow-up for the patient in the pictures above.  No further orthodontic treatment was performed after the retainers were removed.  Since adequate space was created during a growth phase, her lip and tongue muscles were able to adapt to the larger size.  The teeth were able to settle into their most natural position without the use of braces since they were not impeded by crowding.