At Palmetto Smiles of Beaufort, we believe in not only beautiful general dentistry but in helping educate our patients to have healthy mouths. Our office caters to families and individuals looking for outstanding dental care.

Jenn is the Chief Operations Officer here at Palmetto Smiles of Beaufort. She has been here since we opened our doors in 2008. Her extensive knowledge of the business, attention to detail and work ethic are some of the reasons that make her indispensable.

Jenn has been in Beaufort since 1996, but made a big move to Alabama in the summer of 2020 as her husband accepted an Assistant Professor position at Huntingdon College. She loves spending time with her 3 children, traveling with her husband, and snuggling with her 3 rescue pitties.

Megan may be a familiar face to some of our patients. Not only is Megan a Beaufort native, but she also worked for Dr. Wallace as a knowledgeable dental assistant before going to hygiene school and as a part-time hygienist after she graduated in 2010.

Megan has a great smile and would love to tell you about her experience as one of Dr. Wallaces Invisalign patients. Her before and after photos are used as examples in our album, website and on our wall! Megan is married to her husband Derrick and has two beautiful daughters, Hannah and Olivia.

Tiffany grew up in Ohio and found her home in SC after serving as a United States Navy Hospital Corpsman for 26 years. She transitioned to Dental hygiene in 2001 when the Navy needed Hygienists to serve aboard Aircraft Carriers. She resides in Beaufort with her daughter. Tiffany loves to golf, paint and serve her local community. She has a passion for Dental Hygiene and cares very much for her patients!

Erin brings twenty-four years of dental assisting experience to the team. She is a native of Beaufort, where she is raising three amazing children. In her free time she loves to go boating or go shopping! Spending time with friends and family is a priority.

Britney is new to dentistry but that hasnt slowed her down one bit! She is a fast learner and loves being a dental assistant. Britney has absolutely found her aptitude in orthodontics and is Dr Wallaces right hand girl when it comes to ortho.

In her free time, she likes to go shopping and visit the beach. She doesnt have children yet, but definitely considers her dogs and cat her babies. Make sure and give Britney a warm welcome next time you visit Palmetto Smiles of Beaufort!

Britany is originally from a little town in Western NC called Highlands. She moved to Beaufort to be closer to family and has been here for 10 years now. She feels lucky to be able to have the best of both worlds but the beach has her heart. She brings 7 years of dental office experience and has enjoyed every minute of it. Her friendly and cheerful voice is the first one you will hear when you call our office.

Becky moved to Beaufort in 2012 with her husband, Patrick, a Beaufort native. She has a passion for people and culture. She loves being outdoors whether shes on the beach, boat or chasing her twin boys around the yard. She believes that smiles are the greatest therapy.

When I moved to Beaufort a few years ago from Atlanta I worried that my dental care would be less modern or somehow not as good. However, the opposite was true. Dr. Jennifer Wallace and the team at Palmetto Smiles are modern, efficient and definitely friendlier. You will not be disappointed with the care you receive. It is better than my care in Atlanta ever was. Trudi K.

Breathing is an essential part of life. However, it’s such a natural part of life that most people don’t ever think about it. For instance, do you know whether your child breathes through their nose or their mouth?

If your child is breathing through their mouth, it can affect their immune system, their posture, their ability to pay attention, their mood and even change their facial growth and development structure. Mouth breathing can change how your childs whole body develops as well as the condition of their health for the rest of their life.

Dr. Wallace offers a physiologic alternative to traditional retraction orthodontics. With Physiologic Orthodontics and treatment with anterior growth guidance appliance or (AGGA) Dr. Wallace can help return child and adult patients to proper nasal breathing, correct oral posture, and maintain a lip seal for maximum results. Facial growth orthodontics can also result in fuller lips, a more defined jawline, developed cheekbones, and of course a straight, healthy, and natural smile!

Breathing through the mouth versus breathing through the nose has extremely different effects on the body. Human beings are not designed to breathe through their mouths. The mouth is designed for making sounds (communication) and for consuming food. At all other times, the mouth should naturally remain in a relaxed, but closed position.

When a child is breathing normally, the breathing is silent, rhythmic and effortless. The optimal progression is: air is inhaled through the nose while the lips create a seal. The diaphragm pulls air deep into the lungs filling them completely. Then, it releases the air allowing the body to oxygenate. When the body is fully oxygenated, the nervous system can exist in a parasympathetic state, a relaxed state that is required for many bodily functions to occur. Normal breathing supports healthy facial development.

Minor problems include chronically dry lips, mouth, and teeth (which increases the propensity for cavities). More often, however, mouth breathing leads to crooked teeth, an underdeveloped jaw and poor development of the face.

When the mouth is left open to breathe, the muscles in the cheeks become taut. These taut cheek muscles apply an external force to the upper and lower jaw which creates a narrowing effect on the dental arches and the face. Also, the tongue, which is meant to rest on the roof of the mouth naturally, drops down into the floor of the mouth.

This tongue position can cause the upper arch to become narrower (due to the lack of lateral pressure), and the mid-face will not develop normally because the tongue does not push this part of the face out. A child may end up with a narrow face or with mid-face deficiencies, the outcome determined by genes and other factors.

(Two studies in the American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics by dentist Egil Harvold illustrate this phenomenon quite clearly. In both studies, researchers plugged the noses of young monkeys forcing them to adapt by breathing through their mouths. They found that all the monkeys who were made to breathe through their mouth developed crooked teeth and poor jaw and facial development. Specifically, mouth-breathing led to a lowering of the chin, a steeper mandibular plane angle, and an increase in the gonial angle. In other words, the face became long and narrow, the jawless prominent and the chin and the lower jaw retracted.)

Mouth breathers also generally use the wrong body parts to breathe; they initiate breathing in the upper chest as opposed to the diaphragm. Because the body has to exert a great deal of energy to pull the ribs apart to inhale, breathing is labored. Air only fills the upper portion of the lungs and never wholly fulfills the bodys need for oxygen. As a result, a chest-breather will take extra breaths or may develop a yawning habit. This task is the bodys way of taking in a large volume of air to make up for the oxygen deficit.

This kind of breathing is often erratic, noisy or inconsistent and keeps the individual in a sympathetic nervous system state. This fight or flight rule does not support many of the biochemical and organ functions that require a relaxed nervous system: digestion, nutrient distribution, sleep, and hormonal patterns, growth, healing, recovery from exposure to environmental stressors and toxicity, mental acuity, mood modulation, and many others.

Mouth breathing also dramatically affects a childs mental development. Because children who breathe through their mouths are not fully oxygenated, they often do not rest well at night. When they wake up in the morning, usually they may be tired and find it difficult to maintain focus and attention and can even end up with a false diagnosis of ADD or ADHD.

The body develops a forward head posture to compensate for developmental deficiencies from an abnormal breathing pattern. This improper posture, in turn, places undue and long-term stress on the neck, shoulder and cervical muscles, resulting in a chronically tight neck as well as head and shoulder pain. The lower back also becomes arched in an attempt to counterbalance the weight of the head leading to weakness or pain in the lower back. And, the adjustment of the body continues with gradual changes to the hips, knees, ankles, and feet as well as internal organs that depend on a normal alignment.

If you have time watch Dr. Anne-Maree Cole explain in the video above why we need to understand the root problem before we even touch teeth. Its almost one hour long, but we think what Dr. Cole says is too important to not share with our friends, family, guests, and patients.

Mouth Breathing is a topic in which no one discusses. Most accept it as being normal especially if a child has nasal congestion. Mouth breathing impacts many body systems. Facial development, the alignment of jaws, functioning of the body and posture, and ones mental acuity. If you or your child breathe through the mouth, please seek help from your physiologic dentist. Physiologic orthodontics can be life-changing. Parents, do you find yourself asking these questions?

Facial Growth Orthodontics for Dr. Wallaces patient Athan helped reframe growth in the maxilla (upper jaw) and maximize the genetic potential for a proper airway, facial structure, and straight teeth.