Your trusted orthodontist in Amersham

The domino effect. It rarely starts with teeth.

It starts quietly… a slightly open mouth, snoring you were told was “normal”, dark circles you thought were just tiredness.

Years pass.

The tongue stays low.
The child breathes through the mouth.
The jaws grow down instead of forward.
The airway narrows.

By the time puberty arrives, we’re not just talking about crooked teeth anymore.

We’re talking about:
poor sleep
behaviour struggles
attention difficulties
headaches
jaw pain
confidence

Orthodontics didn’t begin in the teenage years.
It began in infancy.

Teeth are the last domino to fall.

The earlier we notice breathing, the easier growth becomes.

If something feels off — trust that instinct.

🛠️ How we help:
• Palatal expansion (RME, MARPE, etc.)
• Aligners, braces or hybrid approach
• Myofunctional therapy
• Functional appliances to guide growth
• Cephs, 3D scans + clinical growth tracking
• ENT collaboration when needed

👶 Your child’s face is full of clues.
Don’t overlook them.
🌱 Early intervention isn’t about “doing braces early” — it’s about gently guiding growth while the body is still adaptable.

📥 Save this post to refer back to
📤 Share with a parent who needs to see this
📩 DM us to book an airway-friendly orthodontic screening

#drsteffendecker #MouthBreathing #MyofunctionalTherapy #TongueTie #crookedteeth InterceptiveOrthodontics CrookedTeeth PediatricOrthodontics EarlyIntervention Orthotropics AirwayHealth drsteffendecker
orthodonticspecialist orthodontist airwaydentistry airwayorthodontics sleepdisorders orthodontist sleepdisorderedbreathing sleepapnea ...

Do you see the differences in their faces?
Or rather…
Do you see the silent dysfunctions behind them?

On the left: A child with ideal facial growth.
On the right: A child with signs of disrupted development.

🧠 These aren’t just cosmetic differences — they tell a story.

Let’s look closer 👇
🔻 Retruded chin
💋 Lip incompetence (lips don’t seal naturally)
📏 Long face syndrome
🦷 Small, underdeveloped jaws
👃 Flattened midface
😬 Mentalis strain (chin muscle working hard to keep lips closed)
🌑 Dark circles under the eyes
📈 Vertical growth instead of forward growth

❓What causes this?
Most often, it’s not genetics.
It’s function — or lack of it:
👄 Mouth breathing
👃 Nasal obstruction
👅 Low tongue posture (possibly due to tongue tie)
🦷 Poor jaw development
💤 Sleep-disordered breathing
😮‍💨 Airway compensation patterns
These changes develop slowly, silently… over time.

👁 Red flags parents should never ignore:
❌ Mouth open at rest
❌ Crowded teeth by age 6–7
❌ Snoring or noisy breathing
❌ Flat cheeks, tired eyes
❌ Dry lips or cracked corners
❌ Long face or weak jawline
❌ Daytime fatigue or hyperactivity
❌ Bedwetting beyond age 5

🛠️ How we help:
• Palatal expansion (RME, MARPE, etc.)
• Aligners, braces or hybrid approach
• Myofunctional therapy
• Functional appliances to guide growth
• Cephs, 3D scans + clinical growth tracking
• ENT collaboration when needed

👶 Your child’s face is full of clues.
Don’t overlook them.
🌱 Early intervention isn’t about “doing braces early” — it’s about gently guiding growth while the body is still adaptable.

📥 Save this post to refer back to
📤 Share with a parent who needs to see this
📩 DM us to book an airway-friendly orthodontic screening

#AirwayOrthodontics #MouthBreathing #MyofunctionalTherapy #TongueTie #FaceClues InterceptiveOrthodontics CrookedTeeth PediatricOrthodontics EarlyIntervention Orthotropics AirwayHealth drsteffendecker
orthodonticspecialist orthodontist airwaydentistry airwayorthodontics sleepdisorders orthodontist sleepdisorderedbreathing sleepapnea ...

Do you see the differences in their faces?
Or rather…
Do you see the silent dysfunctions behind them?

On the left: A child with ideal facial growth.
On the right: A child with signs of disrupted development.

🧠 These aren’t just cosmetic differences — they tell a story.

Let’s look closer 👇
🔻 Retruded chin
💋 Lip incompetence (lips don’t seal naturally)
📏 Long face syndrome
🦷 Small, underdeveloped jaws
👃 Flattened midface
😬 Mentalis strain (chin muscle working hard to keep lips closed)
🌑 Dark circles under the eyes
📈 Vertical growth instead of forward growth

❓What causes this?
Most often, it’s not genetics.
It’s function — or lack of it:
👄 Mouth breathing
👃 Nasal obstruction
👅 Low tongue posture (possibly due to tongue tie)
🦷 Poor jaw development
💤 Sleep-disordered breathing
😮‍💨 Airway compensation patterns
These changes develop slowly, silently… over time.

👁 Red flags parents should never ignore:
❌ Mouth open at rest
❌ Crowded teeth by age 6–7
❌ Snoring or noisy breathing
❌ Flat cheeks, tired eyes
❌ Dry lips or cracked corners
❌ Long face or weak jawline
❌ Daytime fatigue or hyperactivity
❌ Bedwetting beyond age 5

🛠️ How we help:
• Palatal expansion (RME, MARPE, etc.)
• Aligners, braces or hybrid approach
• Myofunctional therapy
• Functional appliances to guide growth
• Cephs, 3D scans + clinical growth tracking
• ENT collaboration when needed

👶 Your child’s face is full of clues.
Don’t overlook them.
🌱 Early intervention isn’t about “doing braces early” — it’s about gently guiding growth while the body is still adaptable.

📥 Save this post to refer back to
📤 Share with a parent who needs to see this
📩 DM us to book an airway-friendly orthodontic screening

#AirwayOrthodontics #MouthBreathing #MyofunctionalTherapy #TongueTie #FaceClues InterceptiveOrthodontics CrookedTeeth PediatricOrthodontics EarlyIntervention Orthotropics AirwayHealth drsteffendecker
orthodonticspecialist orthodontist airwaydentistry airwayorthodontics sleepdisorders orthodontist sleepdisorderedbreathing sleepapnea ...

Here’s what we see every day in paediatric dentistry:

👃 Mouth breathing
Dries the mouth → reduces protective saliva → increases cavities → alters jaw & facial growth

👅 Low tongue posture
Tongue resting low instead of on the palate:
• narrows the jaw
• crowds teeth
• reduces airway space
• impacts speech & swallowing

🍼 Extended bottle or dummy use
Keeps the mouth open longer → delays mature swallowing
→ contributes to open bites & narrow arches

🥪 Soft, processed diets
Modern kids chew far less than they should.
Less chewing = less jaw stimulation → narrower arches & crowded teeth

😬 One-sided chewing creates:
• facial asymmetry
• jaw shifts
• uneven bite development
• muscle imbalance

😴 Snoring & poor sleep
Snoring = airway obstruction → leads to:
• mouth breathing
• low muscle tone
• increased grinding & enamel wear

😬 Teeth grinding : Not “just a habit” — often a sign of:
• airway stress
• broken sleep
• tongue or breathing dysfunction

💨 Chronic nasal blockage
Allergies, enlarged tonsils or adenoids force mouth breathing → derails normal facial & dental development

🦷 THE TRUTH
Teeth don’t grow in isolation — they grow inside a system.
Breathing, chewing, posture & tongue position shape the jaws
long before braces ever come into the picture.

👀 If your child mouth breathes, snores, chews on one side, grinds teeth or already has crowding — these are signs worth checking early.

🎹 Comment CHECKLIST to get access to our airway checklist 
📥 Save this post to refer back to
📤 Share with a parent who needs to see this
📩 DM us to book an orthodontic screening

#orthodonticspecialist #crookedteeth #drsteffendecker #mouthbreathing #airwayorthodontics snoring teethgrinding darkcircles airwayorthodontics ...

Have questions about Myo appliances? 👅🦷
👇 Drop them in the comments — Dr Nathalie will reply.

📌 Make sure you read the previous post first, where we break down why Myo appliances are used and how they work.

✅ Tag a parent who needs to see this
🤓 Comment CHECKLIST to get our free airway red flag guide

🧠 Dentists & Orthos — comment ACADEMY to learn more

📥 Save this post for later
📩 DM us to book your child’s airway-friendly orthodontic screening
– Dr. Decker & the holistic team 💜

#AirwayOrthodontics #crookedteeth #myo #myobrace #drsteffendecker InterceptiveOrthodontics CrookedTeeth PediatricOrthodontics EarlyIntervention Orthotropics AirwayHealth orthodontist highpalate braces orthodonticspecialist Myoappliance ...

👀 Does your child’s palate look like this?

You may be looking at what we call a high, narrow palate — and it means more than just “teeth don’t have enough space.”

🦷 What does a high palate mean?

A high palate forms when the upper jaw grows upwards instead of outwards. This usually happens when the tongue isn’t resting on the roof of the mouth — often due to mouth breathing, allergies, tongue tie, enlarged tonsils/adenoids, or long-term dummy or thumb habits.

Because the palate is also the floor of the nose, a narrow palate means:

❗ Less space for teeth
❗ A smaller nasal airway
❗ Higher risk of mouth breathing, snoring, sleep disturbance
❗ Crowding, open bite or crossbite as teeth come through

🌬️ Why does this matter?

Breathing drives growth.
When nasal breathing is reduced, the jaws tend to grow longer and narrower instead of wide and balanced. This affects facial development, bite, posture, and even attention and sleep quality.

🛠️ What can be done?
Early orthodontic support can gently guide growth by:
✔️ Widening the palate (RME or other expansion methods)
✔️ Creating space for the tongue and erupting teeth
✔️ Improving nasal airflow and breathing patterns
✔️ Supporting stable bite development
✔️ Working alongside myofunctional therapy or ENT care when needed

✨ Early guidance = easier, more stable results.

📩 Wondering what your child’s palate looks like?
Drop them below — we’ll answer them in the next post!

😍 Comment CHECKLIST: to get a free checklist
🧠 Dentists & Orthos — comment ACADEMY to learn more
📥 Save this post
📤 Share with a parent
📩 DM us to book an airway-friendly ortho screening

#AirwayOrthodontics #MouthBreathing #MyofunctionalTherapy #EarlyIntervention #highpalate PediatricOrthodontics TongueTie SnoringInKids Orthotropics FaceClues orthodontist orthodonticspecialist InterceptiveOrthodontics MouthOpenAtRest CrookedTeeth AirwayHealth drsteffendecker mouthbreather tonsils ...