Looking for a course that combines traditional alignment techniques with a holistic approach?
Many dentists are turning to airway-focused orthodontics to address facial growth, oral posture, and breathing all at once. The Functional & Airway-Focused Pediatric Orthodontic Care Course provides dentists with the foundation they need to bridge the gap between traditional alignment and this holistic approach.
1. Diagnose Airway and Myofunctional Disorders Early
The Functional & Airway-Focused Pediatric Orthodontic Care Course focuses on early recognition of issues like mouth breathing and low tongue posture as indicators of underlying causes. The course teaches efficient screening methods that fit into routine evaluations to identify patients who face airway problems or myofunctional imbalance.
From infancy through mixed dentition and into adolescence, taking advantage of growth windows to guide tooth and jaw development is a great strategy. You’ll learn how soft-tissue function plays into skeletal patterns and how you can distinguish between temporary habits and ongoing dysfunction in patients.
The course provides the foundation you need to make clear diagnoses and timely interventions. From accurate diagnosis to carrying out treatment that reduces relapse, you’ll gain practical knowledge to implement airway-focused care.
2. Grow Smiles and Support Health at the Same Time
One of the best things you can do to improve pediatric care is to address a broader range of health and functional issues, not just alignment. Bite correction is just one part of the equation. This course draws connections between occlusion goals and skeletal development to support facial balance and airway size in patients.
Treatment focused on alignment may not address a narrow or imbalanced foundation. The course covers approaches that help guide natural growth and promote long-term form and posture retention, avoiding potential orthodontic relapse and the need for later treatment.
Focusing on function also helps improve patients’ quality of life. Easier breathing and improved tongue rest position make day-to-day life more comfortable. The stability achieved through these methods enables more predictable orthodontic results than can be achieved by focusing on tooth movement alone.
3. Integrate Orthodontics Into Preventive Pediatric Care
Monitoring growth and habits is already a fundamental component of preventive pediatric dentistry. The course guides participants on how to make proper use of early assessment and intervention pathways before issues like crowding and skeletal imbalance can progress.
The overall wellness approach looks at the causes behind oral habits and airway issues before they can affect facial development. Instead of facing concerns later in life, patients benefit from dentists who can sequence care to address function alongside alignment.
The end result is avoiding aggressive corrections or even extractions as patients grow. You’ll gain the necessary insights to build treatment plans centered around long-term health outcomes, reducing the inconvenience, discomfort, and cost that come with later treatment.
4. Hands-On Learning With Case Planning
The hands-on course format lets participants learn practical skills needed to interpret photos and cephalometric records, along with other important aspects of assessing cases. From there, you’ll learn how to use that analysis to choose appliances suitable for the dentition and airway considerations of a specific case.
These skills are reinforced with practical exercises throughout the course. You’ll gain experience applying foundational mechanics concepts through appliance seating drills. It’s not just the technical skills but also the entire framework required for treatment planning from start to finish.
Participants in the course have the opportunity to present cases and work together with both instructors and peers. The group feedback approach helps refine diagnosis and treatment, instilling practical knowledge and real understanding.
5. Strengthen Your Practice Reputation and Service Line
The knowledge and skills you develop through this and other orthodontic courses will improve your reputation and esteem among your patients. Parents will appreciate the higher standard of assessment you provide, considering breathing and growth together to best suit their child’s needs.
Today, families are more aware than ever of just how much snoring, sleep quality, and other oral habits can affect development. Being able to explain these connections in plain language and having confidence when you offer guidance improves trust. That ultimately leads to higher case acceptance, so your patients can enjoy long-term health.
This course will equip you to improve your range of services to better meet the needs of your patient base. You’ll stand out from other dentists in your market. Providing comprehensive care is often a deciding factor when families choose their dental home. You can set your practice up for success by building new skills through this course.
Sign Up for the Functional & Airway-Focused Pediatric Orthodontic Care Course
The Functional & Airway-Focused Pediatric Orthodontic Care Course presents a unique opportunity to bring together conventional orthodontics with holistic airway health and myofunctional care. The American Orthodontics Society aims to help dentists continually expand their horizons, so sign up for this course today to get started.
To learn more about our popular orthodontics courses for pediatric and general dentists, check out one of the upcoming events below.
