The short answer: orthodontics moves teeth. Facial orthopedics guides how the jaw bones grow. Because it uses a child's natural growth, it works best between about seven and twelve years of age, and a first check at around seven shows whether your child would benefit.
A child's jaws grow fastest before and during the early teenage years. During that time, gentle, steady forces from an appliance can widen a narrow upper jaw or encourage a lower jaw that sits back to grow forward. Growth does much of the work. Once growth is complete, the same jaw differences can only be changed with surgery, so the growing years are a real opportunity.
Many children who have facial orthopedic treatment still need braces later, but the braces stage is usually shorter and simpler because the jaws already fit together well.
None of these is an emergency. They are simply worth looking at while growth can still help. Our post on why a six-year-old's crooked teeth are worth checking covers the early signs in more detail.
After an examination, an iTero 3D scan and X-rays, we explain what is happening and whether treatment is needed now, later, or not at all. If it is needed, the appliance might be an expander that widens the upper jaw over a few weeks, or a functional appliance that holds the lower jaw slightly forward while it grows. Children usually adapt to wearing it within a week or two. Reviews take place every four to eight weeks.
Adults no longer have jaw growth to work with, but their teeth still move well. Most adult bite problems are treated with braces or aligners alone. A small number of adults with large jaw differences need jaw surgery combined with orthodontics, and we say so clearly at the planning stage. See orthodontics for adults.
Dentofacial orthopedics at Smile Dental costs ₹60,000 to ₹1,50,000, depending on the appliance and the length of treatment. It is led by Dr. Y. Rajesh Kumar, an orthodontist (MDS) and facial orthopedist, at both Kondapur and Vizag.
The first visit is a ₹500 consultation. It includes an iTero 3D scan, so you see your own teeth on screen, an explanation of what we find, and a written plan with the exact price. Call Kondapur on +91 7416 644 400 or Vizag on +91 9849 132 388, or book through the Kondapur or Vizag page.
Braces at Smile Dental Kondapur cost ₹50,000 to ₹1,50,000 for both jaws. What the fee covers, what moves the number, and how the ₹500 scan consultation gives you an exact price.
A tooth that is cracked or broken down raises one question. Keep it with a root canal and crown, or replace it with an implant? Here is how that call is actually made, and what we check first.