Early Orthodontic Guidance for Jaw Development, Nasal Breathing, and Healthier Growth
Growth guides are removable, non-invasive pre-orthodontic appliances designed to help guide a child's jaw, teeth, tongue posture, and breathing habits while they are still growing. At The Dentist Lounge in Santa Monica, we use growth guide appliances such as Myobrace, HealthyStart, MyoMunchee, and MyoBebe to support healthier facial growth, create room for adult teeth, encourage nasal breathing, and address the habits that often lead to crowding, mouth breathing, poor sleep, and future orthodontic problems.
Children who start early often need less orthodontic treatment later — and in some cases, may avoid more involved treatment altogether.
Schedule a Kids Airway ConsultationGrowth guides are removable appliances. Results depend on consistent wear, proper case selection, and family support throughout treatment.
Results from patients at The Dentist Lounge, Santa Monica. Individual results vary.
Age · Appliance · Duration of treatment
Age · Appliance · Duration of treatment
Age · Appliance · Duration of treatment
A consultation is the only way to know for certain. But these signs often suggest the jaw, airway, or oral habits deserve a closer look.
These symptoms often overlap because jaw development, airway health, oral habits, sleep, and dental growth are connected. A child with crowded teeth may also have a narrow arch. A child with a narrow arch may also mouth breathe. A child who mouth breathes may also have poor tongue posture, restless sleep, or enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
At The Dentist Lounge, we evaluate the full picture — not just the dental bite. That means assessing breathing patterns, sleep symptoms, tongue posture, oral habits, jaw width, and facial development together before drawing any conclusions about treatment.
Some children are clearly candidates for growth guides. Others benefit from a different starting point — fixed expanders, myofunctional therapy, airway monitoring, or referral to an ENT or sleep specialist. We will always be direct about what we find and what we recommend.
Two different tools for early jaw development — both may play a role depending on your child.
Growth guides are removable appliances that focus heavily on muscle function, oral habits, tongue posture, nasal breathing, and early dental arch development. They are often a great starting point for younger children or children whose issues are driven by habits and muscle patterns.
Because they are removable, results depend on consistent wear and family participation. They work best when the primary concern is functional — breathing habits, tongue posture, oral muscle patterns — rather than a structural deficiency in jaw width.
Fixed expanders are attached to the teeth and are used when more structural jaw expansion is needed. They are often recommended for children with a narrow palate, crossbite, more significant crowding, or airway concerns that require a more predictable skeletal change.
Some children benefit from growth guides first. Others need a fixed expander. Some may use both at different stages. The right choice depends on your child's age, symptoms, jaw development, airway findings, and goals.
How a child's jaw develops shapes how they breathe, how they sleep, how they grow, and how their teeth come in.
If your child has crowded teeth, mouth breathing, poor sleep, thumb sucking, low tongue posture, narrow arches, or early signs of orthodontic problems, a kids airway and growth consultation is the right place to start. Dr. Dolgov will evaluate your child's jaw development, oral habits, airway signs, and growth stage to determine whether a growth guide, myofunctional therapy, fixed expander, or another approach is the best next step.
Schedule a Kids Airway Consultation