Smiling little boy with temporomandibular joint disease

Holistic orthodontics & functional orthodontics for children

In our orthodontics practice, we take a holistic view of your children’s teeth and jaw alignment! Functional orthodontics is the part of orthodontics that focuses on the functional pattern of the masticatory system, an optimal bite and its consequences on the whole body.

If the interaction of the lower and upper jaw, the temporomandibular joints as well as the teeth’s biting and chewing motions do not function, and thus a functional disorder or a craniomandibular dysfunction (CMD) is present in children, this can be felt throughout the body. It can lead to
pain in the temporomandibular joints, headaches and migraines, tension, back pain, dizziness and ringing in the ears.

For us at Brand Orthodontics in Mainz, functional orthodontics is an important area of orthodontics, as we can set a “gentle course” very early on, especially for children as they grow, and use growth to achieve a holistic, functional balance.

dental splint for temporomandibular joint disease

Modern & holistic diagnostics

For diagnostics, we first record the jaw anatomy of children and teenagers in order to be able to reproduce the specific jaw movements very precisely. In addition, we focus is on the whole body examination. Why holistic? We cannot treat “the upper level” of the holding system and ignore the “lower level” in the process. Thus, the holistic perspective in orthodontics includes the position of the temporomandibular joints, the cervical spine as well as the entire posture of the body even up to the placement of the feet.

Interdisciplinary treatment for the best possible treatment results

We always handle children and teenagers whom we treat orthodontically in a holistic manner. In the case of existing dysfunctions, we work in an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary manner with a very experienced team specialized in CMD (craniomandibular dysfunction) from physiotherapy, osteopathy and sports science in Mainz, in order to react sensitively to the natural force effects of our orthodontic treatment and to positively influence the entire body in its posture and in its interaction.

In the same way, we understand “holistic” to mean working with your child. A successful treatment is always the result of joint efforts. In this respect, it is all the more important to our Mainz team to also include children and teenagers in our efforts in a child-friendly way! We explain in detail why we plan certain braces, how they work, and how often they should be worn. Only when we bring together the needs and wishes of the children, the parents and ours as orthodontists, only then will we achieve the best success for your child.

And what does the braces for the treatment of craniomandibular dysfunction look like? Functional orthodontic braces are a special type of removable braces. They are made of transparent plastic and are placed over the teeth and removed by the children themselves. However, unlike classic braces, functional orthodontic braces do not actively exert pressure on the teeth and jaws, but work passively. In short, they only “get moving” and “direct” the movement of the mandible into the optimal final bite position as soon as they are used. In doing so, they retrain the muscles involved, which in turn exert stimuli on the bone, which then firmly stabilizes the newly established, healthy and harmonious balance.

Cost planning

Functional orthodontic braces for children are usually covered by health insurance. Nevertheless, orthodontic treatment concepts may sometimes include private services that are not supported by your health insurance. In our practice, treatment proposals with additional costs are carried out only with the consent of the parents! We find a solution for all expectations and wishes and our motto is fair and honest cost transparency.