Functional appliances

Not all misalignments are issues with your teeth alone – sometimes your jaws need to move, too! This is possible in growing children with the help of functional appliances.

What are functional appliances?

Who are functional appliances suitable for?

Can I remove my functional appliance?

How long does treatment with functional appliances take?

Types of functional appliances

We use two main types of functional appliances at our practice:

Twin block

The Twin block appliance consists of two removable braces, one for the top teeth and one for the lower teeth. We use this appliance when most of the adult teeth have erupted.

Palatal expanders

Palatal expanders gradually widen the upper jaw to create more space in your child’s smile. This is possible because children’s jaws develop in two halves and don’t fuse until after puberty.