Your child’s teeth look crowded, and you would rather guide jaw growth naturally than wait for braces. Dr. Susan Kim earned her dental degree at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. She stayed at Columbia afterward for a postdoctoral program in pediatric dentistry. Families all over Kirkland come to her for a holistic approach to children’s dentistry.
Here is the part that surprises most parents, because a narrow jaw rarely corrects itself over time. Crowded teeth, a blocked nose, and rough nights usually show up together as one package. Nobody enjoys hearing that a bite problem was easier to handle three years ago. Her practice pairs everyday checkups with airway-focused pediatric dentistry under one roof. Parents looking for a pediatric dentist in Kirkland get both conversations in the same visit.
What Does It Mean to Guide Jaw Growth Naturally?
Guiding jaw growth means working with the growth your child already has. One systematic review put the worldwide rate of crowded or misaligned bites at 56 percent. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a first orthodontic check by age 7. That timing lets a dentist shape space instead of straightening teeth years later. Dr. Susan reaches for removable appliances, habit training, or gentle arch expansion depending on the child. None of those tools force a jaw somewhere it was never going to go.
Parents ask us constantly whether this approach replaces braces completely, and sometimes it genuinely does. Other times it trims the treatment a child needs later, which still counts as a win. Braces move teeth that already arrived, while growth guidance works on the space beforehand. Timing matters more than the brand name printed on any appliance, and honest dentists say so. Seattle Met has named Dr. Susan a Top Pediatric Dentist every year since 2012.
What Signs Mean My Child’s Jaw Is Not Growing Well?
Most parents spot the signs at night, long before anyone spots them in a dental chair. Research puts mouth breathing in children somewhere between 11 and 56 percent, depending on the study. That habit tends to travel alongside crowding and broken sleep in the very same kid. Here are the clues worth writing down before your next appointment:
- Mouth open at rest
- Snoring most nights
- Crowded baby teeth
- Dark circles under eyes
- Grinding teeth at night
- Restless sleep or bedwetting
One clue by itself does not tell you much, so try not to panic over a single item. Three or four of them stacked together, though, makes a pattern worth a real conversation. Dr. Susan watches for exactly these combinations during routine visits at the Totem Lake office. Record a phone video if the snoring gets loud, because video beats memory every single time.
Which Jaw Growth Approach Is Right for My Child?
The right approach depends on your child’s age and on whatever is causing the problem. Dr. Susan treats children from age 3 through 15 with the Myobrace system. After growth slows in the mid teen years, those appliances lose a great deal of their power. Each of the four paths below solves a different problem for a different kid.
| Approach | What it does | Best age window | What it will not do |
| Watch and wait | Tracks growth at regular checkups | Any age | Change a narrow arch on its own |
| Habit and myofunctional changes | Retrains breathing, chewing, and tongue posture | 3 and up | Fix a tongue tie or a blocked nose |
| Growth guidance appliances | Widens the arch during active growth | Roughly 3 to 15 | Work once growth has finished |
| Traditional braces | Straightens teeth already in place | 12 and up | Widen the airway or reshape facial growth |
Dr. Susan holds provider certification for Vivos, HealthyStart, Myobrace, and Myo Munchee programs. She picks the tool that fits the child, rather than fitting the child to a tool. Ask which row your child belongs in before you start comparing prices between offices. You can read more about appliances that guide teeth without braces on our site. Results vary with age, cause, and how faithfully a child wears whatever gets prescribed.
What Can I Do at Home to Support My Child’s Jaw Growth?
What Can I Do at Home to Support My Child’s Jaw Growth?Home habits carry far more weight than most parents ever expect them to carry. Chewing tough, fibrous food builds the muscles that help shape a wider dental arch. A 2024 pilot study of preschoolers linked food texture to measurable jaw differences. None of this replaces an exam, and none of it shows results inside one week. Start with these daily habits and give them a fair runway:
- Encourage nose breathing daily
- Serve crunchy fibrous foods
- Limit long pacifier use
- Watch for thumb sucking
- Lips closed, tongue up
- Book an airway check
Pick two of those habits and hold them steady for a full month before adding more. Families in Juanita and Kingsgate tell us a fixed bedtime routine makes the biggest difference. Progress here shows up in sleep quality and lip posture, not in dramatic before photos. Tell your dentist what changed and what stubbornly did not, because both answers help. Results vary from child to child, and some kids need clinical help alongside the habits.
When Should My Child Get Checked?
Book that first dental visit by your child’s first birthday, which the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends. Add an orthodontic check by age 7, following the American Association of Orthodontists. Those two appointments catch most growth problems while the gentle options still work well. Washington families have extra reason to keep them, because state numbers moved the wrong direction. The 2023 to 2024 Smile Survey found 19 percent of third graders with untreated decay. That figure sat at 12 percent back in 2016, so the trend deserves your attention.
Dr. Susan screens for airway and growth at every checkup, not only at problem visits. Parents from Bridle Trails and Rose Hill often book a cleaning and leave discussing sleep instead. You can take the kids airway quiz beforehand if you want a head start. Write your questions down early, since small details usually point toward the right starting place. Bring your own observations too, because what you notice overnight beats what we see at noon.
Give Your Child’s Jaw Room to Grow
You know your child better than any dentist ever will, and you already noticed something. Maybe it was the snoring, the open mouth at rest, or those crowded front teeth. Dr. Susan Kim and the team at Evergreen Pediatric & Airway Dentistry serve Kirkland families daily. Your child does the growing here, and our job is pointing that growth somewhere better.
Call 425-814-3196 and book a growth and airway checkup for your child this month. You can also schedule online in about a minute without picking up the phone. Give that jaw the room it needs while the growth window is still wide open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can jaw size be increased naturally in children?
A child’s jaw will not grow on command, but daily inputs really do shape how it develops. Chewing load, tongue posture, and nasal breathing all influence how wide that arch becomes. Researchers compared food texture against jaw measurements in a small 2024 pilot study of preschoolers. Those authors asked for more research, so pair any habit change with a professional exam.
Is guided jaw growth the same thing as braces?
No, and the difference comes down to timing far more than technology. Braces straighten teeth that have already erupted into your child’s mouth. Growth guidance starts earlier and works on the space those teeth are going to need. Orthodontists explain the thinking behind an early evaluation by age seven. Most families pick a direction at that first appointment with the orthodontist.
At what age is it too late to guide jaw growth?
The easiest window narrows as facial growth slows, generally through the early teen years. Earlier beats later here, and the first dental visit belongs on your calendar by a child’s first birthday. Once growth finishes, treatment shifts toward braces or surgical options instead of gentle guidance. Ask a pediatric dentist where your own child sits on that curve right now.
Does mouth breathing really change a child’s face?
Yes, and the change shows up in both the face and the bite over time. Chronic mouth breathing can narrow the palate and alter the way a face grows. That pattern appears in clinical guidance on mouth breathing written for parents. It also dries the mouth and raises cavity risk, so treat the blockage rather than the habit alone.
