Intending orthodontics just as the therapy that allows to put the teeth in a row is now definitely reductive and delineates the problem of facial growth to the only aesthetic side. Getting a beautiful smile is the most striking thing and that most gratifies the young patient and the parent, but in reality, the functional problems are much more important, especially those linked to the growth of the jaw bones and the positioning of the teeth.
Many functions are connected to the position of the jaw bones: breathing, which must take place through the nasal pathways and not through the mouth (oral respiration), swallowing, which must take place without the interposition of the tongue (children’s swallow), phonation (the child must learn to speak in a situation of normality and without constraints caused by frenulum or abnormal jaw positions) and ultimately chewing that cannot be corrected if the jaws and teeth are not in the right position. So it is wrong to worry only about the aesthetic appearance resulting from the pleasant alignment of the teeth that provides a beautiful smile; it is right to cure the young patient by worrying about the correct growth of the maxillary by means of orthopedic equipment and only after reaching a valid position of the maxillary, then at a later stage provide the aesthetic by aligning the teeth with orthodontic equipment. These new and recent therapies that precede the orthopedic phase and after the orthodontic phase overcome the term Orthodontics (only the alignment of the teeth). Today the therapy to be implemented on the young patient is Ortognathodontia (orthopedic therapy of dental maxillary and dental alignment).
In rare cases where orthopedic treatment performed during the growth phase does not allow a good position of the jawbone, a orthodontic therapy combined with surgery (Ortognathodontic Surgery) will be required at the end of growth.
The aesthetic aspect is also taken into consideration in the Santoro dental practice, using highly sophisticated techniques with invisible braces, but always inserted into a project that takes into account the functional purpose of the therapeutic act.
