Paediatric Dentistry
Parents have a lot to think about when it comes to the health of their children. At Fanelli Dental, our entire team has undergone extensive additional training in the area of child development to ensure that your little one receives the very best dental care possible.
Our Kids Care Programme attends to the different dental needs of each child.
Orientation Programmes
Creating a healthy start for young smiles begins by taking the fear of the unknown out of their dental care. We make dentistry fun to gain the trust of our youngest patients. Dr Remo Fanelli and our entire team take their time to work at your child’s pace to increase their confidence in our team and in themselves.
Regular Active Maintenance
At the core of our paediatric dental care are routine visits to evaluate the health of teeth and gums and provide children’s dental cleanings, cavity prevention and fillings when necessary.
We also evaluate health-related concerns such as:
- Airway
- Tongue position and function
- Lip seal
- Swallowing
- Mouth/nasal breathing
- Oral habits (thumb and finger-sucking)
- Facial muscle development
Our Gladstone dentists will work with parents on behaviour modification and exercises to correct habits that may disrupt normal development of the jaw, mouth and teeth.
We offer many helpful forms and information on our forms page for parents to download.
Orofacial Myology (Face Gym)
We provide training to assist in the normal function of the tongue, lips and facial muscles. We will work together using simple and fun exercises that produce amazing changes in facial appearance and muscle function.
Breathing Re-Training (Breathe Well)
Did you know that how you breathe may have a significant impact on how your face develops? Mouth-breathing leads to incorrect tongue posture where the tongue sits at the bottom of the mouth floor rather than against the roof of the mouth.
When we mouth-breathe, we over-breathe, causing a deficit of oxygen in every cell of the body. Mouth breathing is also linked with high arches and dental crowding.
By nose breathing, the tongue takes a rooftop position and forms a template for the growing arch.
Early Interceptive Functional Orthodontics
We know from 30 years of treating patients that early interceptive functional orthodontics can have a significantly positive effect on the growing child’s facial, airway and muscle development.
The treatments are individually customised to meet the differing needs of the growing child. Eighty per cent of facial development has occurred by the age of 10. We like to treat orthodontic conditions early to maximise change while the face is still growing.
Interceptive (phase I) orthodontics may include:
Palatal expanders – Expanders adjust the development of the jaw to prevent overcrowding and encourage proper development. They may also eliminate the need for orthodontic extractions in the future.
Space maintainers – Replace deciduous (primary) teeth and act as a placeholder to create space for permanent teeth.
Braces – Early childhood orthodontics may shorten treatment time and complexity later.
Dental appliances – There are numerous functional appliances (removable plates) that improve function and expand the arches to make way for future dental development.
Myofuctional appliances such as Myobrace and Myo Munchees are also used where appropriate. These conservative and natural orthodontic solutions are customised to suit each child’s developmental needs.
For a family dentist in Gladstone who warmly welcomes children and adults alike, contact Fanelli Dental today for comprehensive dentistry that gives the entire family healthy, confident smiles.
