Expansion Might be Needed Before Articulation

Hi, I am seeing an 8-year-old whose mom wants to help her get rid of interdental /s/ and tongue habits before she sees an orthodontist. But am I right in thinking that maybe she should first see the orthodontist before we work on tongue habits? As he will help with expanding her palate? Can we do both?

You might be able to do some things with the young girl prior to sending her to the orthodontist for expansion. This will depend upon certain of your evaluation findings: · During your eval, how well did the tongue fit into the palate? That is a key to success much of the time. If you found that there is excessive overflow, then it is highly likely you will be unable to achieve success without expansion occurring first. · Does she have an open bite? If so, how excessive is it? That is another barrier that cannot be overcome without orthodontics first. Expansion might be needed before articulation