New Early Orthodontics: The End of the Need for Braces?

This innovative orthodontic practice in Lone Tree improves kids' overall health.

Growing up in the late '90s and early 2000s, it seemed that getting braces was an unavoidable fact of life that was to add on more trauma to one's "awkward years" and also take away the joys of gum chewing and popcorn munching. With each passing year that the unforgiving metal clung to your pearly whites, a teen could only hope to speed up the process of oral rearrangement so they could take a picture without the gleam of stainless-steel reflecting in the flash or talk to a crush without having to dig food bits out of the brackets beforehand.

It was hard. It was painful. It was worth it.

However, it was also expensive ($6,000!) and required constantly wearing retainers that often wound up in the trash can of the school cafeteria. Fast forward to present-day orthodontics. Adults today wish they had crossed paths with Dr. Kent Lauson and NEO New Early Orthodontics®.

After years of being in practice in Colorado, Dr. Lauson realized that while using braces to straighten teeth was a cure for crooked teeth, the traditional approach could also be the cause for a lot of medical issues such as headaches, jaw joint pain, and even Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Braces may be able to align teeth to Hollywood perfection, but bone structure alignment problems can remain in its wake.

Dr. Lauson also concluded that traditional orthodontics waits too long to fix a youth's smile, that oral evaluations as early as the age of three or four can be a huge advantage in ensuring more ideal facial development that leads to that star smile. NEO ensures that ideal oral habits are instilled so issues, like crooked teeth and overbites, can be avoided in the future. As it turns out, poor oral habits at an early age also can be to blame for a plethora of health conditions affecting kids even into adulthood.

With his findings, Dr. Lauson developed The NEO Way®, an innovative teeth-straightening method involving a nighttime oral appliance, taking advantage of the main growth time for a child. One of the primary oral appliances used at NEO is the Myobrace®. This appliance, developed by a dentist in Australia, is now successfully used in over 100 countries to treat millions of children. At NEO, with the aid of the Myobrace® and good patient cooperation, significant results will be seen well before traditional braces would even be considered. All that is required of a child is do simple exercises to change poor oral habits and to wear the oral appliance while sleeping and for an hour in the evening.

The NEO Way is a non-extraction, no surgery approach, with an airway-centric focus. Narrow, underdeveloped jaws are naturally expanded to help create healthy nose breathing and positive oral habits. Their goal is airway health and proper jaw growth, allowing for straight teeth — and a truly healthy smile!

By focusing on a child's airway, this method improves a child's overall health by remedying disorders, such as:

Sleep-disordered breathing
Mouth breathing
Hypertrophy of tonsils and adenoids
Chronic sickness
Bedwetting
Poor head and body posture
ADD/ADHD
Asthma

If you're worried that your child may be exhibiting any of these conditions, visit the Symptom Checker here.

The process begins by first evaluating airway function and oral habits that may inhibit ideal facial development. Then, monthly visits to instill positive oral habits and nighttime appliances guide proper jaw growth to creating a stable, healthy smile for a lifetime. By doing evaluations of children early to make sure only positive oral habits are established, it is possible to stop the development of crooked teeth in its tracks reducing or eliminating the need for braces and retainers.

Traditional orthodontics has changed very little over the years and by the time many kids get braces, options are more limited. Permanent teeth extractions and/or surgery are often recommended. There is a better way, The NEO Way!

By tackling facial development issues early, more than half the children who receive the NEO treatment will not need further orthodontic intervention (translated, NO BRACES!). Below is an example of how well this process can work without braces.

BEFORE

AFTER

A few minutes of daily habit correcting exercises, a nighttime appliance + one-hour evening wear. This process can minimize or eliminate the need for braces and retainers, saving parents money and kids get straight teeth that are more stable for a lifetime.

NEO New Early Orthodontics® welcomes patients of all ages (yes, if you grownups reading this feel like you missed out on straightened teeth as a kid, Dr. Lauson and his team have advanced treatment approaches for adults as well).

For more information about NEO New Early Orthodontics®, visit their website at www.NewEarlyOrthodontics.com or call 303-690-0400 now to schedule a complimentary evaluation.

Also, NEO New Early Orthodontics® will be hosting an informational session on July 22, from 6-7 p.m. at their Lone Tree office (9400 Station St #100, Lone Tree, CO 80124). So stop by, meet the team, and see what NEO New Early Orthodontics® can do you for you!