Breathing

Orthodontic X-Rays

Radiation safety has evolved a great deal in the past two decades. Today, radiation exposure from orthodontic and dental x-rays is very low, especially with the change to digital radiography from analog radiography. However, we are still very careful and judicious in our use of x-rays.

At Marin Ortho, we take a low-dose digital 3-dimensional x-ray called a CBCT (which stands for cone-beam computed tomography). This enables us to completely visualize and evaluate the erupted and unerupted teeth, jaws, jaw joints, and airways of each patient and plan their orthodontic treatment appropriately. The radiation is extremely low relative to the impressive amount of information we are able to glean from these images. The effective dose is the same as the background radiation from spending a few days outside in the sunshine.

We use a leaded thyroid shield designed to prevent radiation exposure to the thyroid gland. The techniques and equipment we use prevent transmission of radiation to the reproductive organs.

We are concerned about radiation safety for every patient and staff member, which is why we use only the latest methods and technology. If you have any concerns, please do not hesitate to ask one of our team members!

Pediatric Sleep Screening

Inadequate sleep can affect your child in many ways. One study found that 10% of patients aged 6-17 seeking orthodontic are at high risk for sleep related breathing disorders. At Marin Ortho, we are especially mindful of the importance of screening our pediatric patients for possible sources of labored breathing during sleep. Our 3D CBCT scan is an invaluable tool in this screening. It allows us to visualize enlarged tissues such as the tonsils and turbinates, as well as congested areas, such as the sinuses, that may be impeding the flow of air during sleeping. Orthodontists are also trained to detect oral manifestations of labored breathing during sleep such as narrow dental arches, dental crossbites, open bites, tongue thrusts, etc.

airway diagnostic record

We may ask if your child snores, experiences pauses, gasps, or snorts during sleeping, has unusual sleeping positions such as neck hyper-extension, experiences excessive sweating at night, has trouble waking up in the morning- even after sleeping a normal amount of time, experiences sluggishness or sleepiness during the day, or exhibits hyperactivity, attention deficit and/or irritability. This questionnaire can help prepare you for your first consultation with us: Pediatric sleep questionnaire.

There is an increasing awareness that breathing difficulty during sleep in children can be improved when addressed with early orthodontic treatment as a stand-alone therapy or in conjunction with other therapies prescribed by your child’s physician, ear-nose-throat specialist (otolaryngologist), and/or other sleep medicine specialist. Treatment options can include widening of the palate or fabrication of other oral appliances.

Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire

EASE Procedure

Narrow airways can cause many long term problems if not address when a person is young. It can lead to sleep apnea, breathing problems and many other side effects like low energy all because of a lack of air flow. When we take x-rays at our office we always check to make sure that our patients have the appropriate airway width. If an patient’s airway looks smaller than it should we recommend expansion, however as you age expansion gets harder to achieve. When you go through puberty your bones fuse together making it impossible to do traditional expansion on adults.

The alternative for adults is a procedure where the facial bones on the upper jaw are carefully scored by surgeon while the patient is sedated or under general anesthesia. A distractor (expander) is placed during the procedure and that is the device that will be doing the expanding. The procedure has been refined to be less invasive and have the patient returning to work in 1-2 days. The lower jaw is then widened to match the upper with Invisalign.

Orthodontic X-Rays

What we see

Pediatric Sleep Screening

Expanders

What to Expect After

New Laser Sintered Palatal Expander

Old Palatal Expander

New Palatal Retainer

EASE Procedure

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