The Healthy Start System
Does your child’s snoring sound like a freight train? Are you concerned that a recent diagnosis of ADD or ADHD may be inaccurate, or that his or her thumb sucking will cause permanent issues? Is your child troubled by bed wetting, overly tired in the morning, challenged in school or has allergies? All of these could be signs your child has Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB).
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Sleep Disordered Breathing is an all-inclusive term for breathing difficulties, ranging from quiet snoring to severe airway obstruction during sleep. When your child’s breathing is disrupted, his or her body recognizes the disruption as choking, therefore, slowing the heart rate, raising the blood pressure, arousing the brain, and disrupting sleep, which impacts your child’s dental and overall health.
Dr. Ombrello is an international speaker certified to train other dental professionals on the Healthy Start system. She has researched and experienced first-hand the power of this solution and it’s positive impact on the immediate and long-term health and wellbeing of your child. She is considered the leading provider of Healthy Start in the Southwest region of the US. While it has been less widely accepted in the US, Healthy Start has treated over 3.5 million children worldwide over the past 40 years.
Achieving a Healthy Airway While Preventing Crooked Teeth Too!
Healthy Start is just as its name suggests; is a start-up system to help your child’s teeth come in properly. Its use provides no discomfort, and it is a natural way to guide your child’s teeth to proper alignment. The Healthy Start System™ is a revolutionary departure from traditional orthodontics into an early, non-invasive, natural way of straightening teeth. It works as well as or better than braces, plastic aligners, surgery, or any other option to achieve a picture-perfect, beautiful smile.
Benefits of the Healthy Start System
Dr. Ombrello and her dental team are committed to bringing their patients the most up-to-date dental technology with proven long-term benefits. Benefits of treatment include:
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Achieve a healthy smile with optimized development of temporomandibular joint, tongue, extraoral musculature, and airway
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Crooked teeth prevention with gentle treatments versus correcting crooked, crowded teeth
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Treatment is best started at an earlier age (as early as 2-3 years old) when patients are more compliant and tend to be more compliant
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Permanent results with drastically minimized rates of relapse
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Using a removable dental appliance that is safe, natural, and exceedingly more hygienic than other orthopedic/orthodontic appliances
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Results can be achieved faster and with less discomfort than with traditional orthodontics
How Do I Know if My Child Needs the Healthy Start System?
After a thorough dental checkup as early as age 3, Dr. Ombrello will discuss possible dental conditions your child may develop that warrant Healthy Start. The Healthy Start appliance is recommended for a number of issues, including:
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Under bite or overbite
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Gummy smile
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Cross bite
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Open bite
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Thumb sucking
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Snoring
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Mouth breathing
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Deviated swallow
How Does the Healthy Start System Work?
For patients between the ages of 4 and 7, the Healthy Start System works with the natural forces of tooth eruption. The soft, comfy, removable device tenderly guides the erupting teeth into their perfect positions. In addition, Healthy Start aids in the correct growth and alignment of the lower jaw while tending to facial aesthetics, as well.
The Healthy Start 3-Step Process:
If your child is between the ages of 4 and 7, Healthy Start is a three-step process:
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Habit-Corrector: The habit-corrector eliminates or improves current oral habits that can damage your child’s dental health. He or she wears the habit-corrector at night while sleeping. Your child will become used to wearing a device in his or her mouth every night. This step lasts about one to four months.
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Second Phase: Dr. Ombrello will give your child an appliance specifically sized for your child to wear every night. It aids the incoming teeth into their proper places, corrects jaw relations, and expands your child’s arches for the incoming adult teeth. Your child will wear this device for two to five months.
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Final Phase: The final treatment begins with an appliance that accommodates incoming adult teeth. This phase is extremely important because his or her adult teeth are forming and the gum tissue fibers are starting to attach the teeth in the mouth. Healthy Start works precisely to ensure the teeth erupt into proper alignment and prevents shifting.
Dr. Ombrello knows that traditional orthodontics are an effective means for teeth straightening; however, with Healthy Start your child can successfully achieve straight teeth in the privacy of your own home without wearing uncomfortable metal braces. In addition, while correcting and preventing orthodontic issues, Healthy Start results are achieved in less time as compared to traditional orthodontics.
Healthy Start for Older Children?
Healthy Start is just as effective for older children from ages 8 and up. The same soft, comfy, removable device is available for preteens (8 -12) and for teens and adults (13+). No longer is there a need to wear metal braces or aligners to achieve straight teeth! The steps are similar to those for 4-7 year olds, with some variations.