Application of Functional Orthodontic Appliances to Treatment of 'Mandibular Retrusion Syndrome': Effective Use of the Trainer System™

There have recently been an increasing number of parents complaining of their children’s health-related problems other than caries, such as decline in exercise ability, open-mouth posture, slow eating, allergy and misaligned teeth. Indeed, studies have shown increases in the number of children with difficulty masticating hard or chewy food or inability to swallow correctly. The decline in oral function is attributed to dietary changes among children in the modern Japanese society, including the eating of soft foods at home and elsewhere. It has also been shown that the perioral muscles in growing children influence body posture, respiration, mastication, deglutition, speech and morphology of the jaws and teeth.