The maxilla is the bone that forms your child's upper jaw and holds the top teeth in place.

In kid words

"Your maxilla is the bone that holds all your top teeth, and it's part of your skull, not a piece that moves." Your bottom jaw is the one that swings open and shut every time you talk, chew, or yawn. Your maxilla just stays put the whole time, holding your top teeth steady.

The parent version

Maxilla is the anatomical name for the upper jawbone, the fixed bone that anchors the upper teeth and gives the midface its shape. It sits attached directly to the skull, unlike the mandible, the lower jaw, which is the only one of the two that actually hinges open and closed.

Like the rest of a child's skeleton, the maxilla grows and changes shape through childhood, gradually widening to make room as permanent teeth come in behind the baby teeth already there. It is a pure anatomy word, one most parents never need for everyday brushing and flossing. How your own child's growth and fit are progressing is a good question for your pediatric dentist.

Where you might hear it at our office

The maxilla itself is rarely named out loud during a visit, but its growth is something our team quietly follows, since growth and alignment are checked at every routine visit here. That ongoing watch is really what orthodontics means inside a pediatric practice: keeping an eye on how the jaw is growing long before any decision about braces is ever on the table.

If a growth pattern is ever worth a closer look, that conversation happens with your pediatric dentist, in plain language, not just this word. Other unfamiliar terms from a visit are likely sitting in the rest of the Kids' Dental Dictionary.

Related words

Words that often come up alongside maxilla: mandible, palate, skull.