Straighten Your Smile, Straighten Your Sleep: Pediatric Orthodontics to Prevent Obstructive Sleep Apnea

July 21, 2009

Join me on the next installment of my Expert Interview Series, where orthodontist and sleep disorder expert, Dr. William Hang, will discuss how pediatric orthodontics and palatal expansion can help your child breathe, sleep, and live better.

During this special event, you will discover:

• Why your child’s health problems could be caused by narrow jaws and dental crowding that could lead to sleep apnea or a host of other sleep-breathing disorders.

• How your kids can go from sleepless and fatigued to rested and energized after a couple of trips to the orthodontist.

•Even more alternatives to CPAP treatment of sleep apnea, like palatal expansion other orthodontic procedures.

These are just a few of the benefits you’ll gain by attending our live teleconference on Thursday, July 23, 2009 @ 8:30 to 9:30 PM called:

"Healthy Sleep, Happy Kids"

This is a rare treat for yourself, your children, or your loved ones who may be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS), snoring, or anyone who just wants to sleep and live better. And between now and July 22nd, I’m making it SUPER easy for you to register for this live call.

All you have to do is click on the link below and and register: http://doctorstevenpark.com/teleseminar-registration

Dr. William Hang is a renown orthodontist whose mission has always been centered on paying careful attention to the health of your airway, to give you a more balanced, attractive face, to keep your jaw joints functioning well and free of pain, and to provide you with straight teeth. In the process of achieving those goals, he does not extract permanent teeth or use retractive headgears. Many traditional orthodontists will tell you that Dr. Hang’s approach is "unconventional" and "out of the mainstream". He agrees.

For more information about Dr. Hang, please click here or visit http://www.facefocused.com.

During this live 60 minute call, Dr. Hang and I will be answering your questions LIVE. And you will have two options to access this event: online or on the phone. This is a special event we are offering to you for FREE for a limited time. Also, we only have a limited number of call lines available and we really want you on the call — So, whatever you’re doing, stop now and take a minute to register for this teleconference, today! But, if for any reason you won’t be able to make it that Thursday night, register anyway and a free recording of the interview will be in to your inbox a few days after the teleseminar.

You won’t want to miss this!

Written by Steven Park · Filed Under Blog
Tagged: ,headgear, malocclusion, obstructive sleep apnea, orthodontics, palatal expansion, snoring

6 Responses to “Straighten Your Smile, Straighten Your Sleep: Pediatric Orthodontics to Prevent Obstructive Sleep Apnea”

Anna on November 16th, 2009 11:26 am

Is it too late to listen to the recording of this interview?
Anna on November 22nd, 2009 9:53 am

The interview with Dr. Hang is very informative. I have consulted with a number of orthodontists in the past year and a half regarding correction for my 11 yo son’s malocclusion. Most orthodontists simply recommended the same conventional approach: remove teeth and pull them back (extraction & retraction). I was very hesitant to employ that approach, but could find no one locally who offered alternative treatment options that addressed my concerns.

I continued to seek more information and eventually I learned about Dr. Conrad Sack (who specializes in Crozat appliances) and Dr. William Hang in the greater LA region (about a 90-120 mile drive). I was able to schedule consult appts in the same day on a school holiday. Of the many orthodontists I consulted, these were the only ones who not only addressed the issue of airway space, proper facial growth and aesthetics, and development of a healthy mouth and face to avoid poor health conditions later in life, but they were appreciative that I was aware of and concerned about these issues too. It was a difficult decision to choose orthodontic treatment at such a distance, but I think in the long run, the extra travel time will be a worthy investment in our son’s health (none of my local friends “get” why I would travel so far when there are literally dozens of orthodontists within a 5 mile radius of our community). In the end our choice was to go with Dr. Hang’s treatment plan, which will begin in just a few weeks.
Anna on November 22nd, 2009 9:59 am

I also highly recommend the recent Whole Health Source blog series of posts (& reader comments) on malocclusion, which explores some of the nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental causes of this all too common but unhealthy condition.
Steven Park on November 22nd, 2009 3:41 pm

Thanks, Anna. I’ll take a look the the blog you recommended.
Roger V on December 13th, 2009 2:52 pm

A friend just alerted me to this post on an internet forum:

Here’s my story:
I was a happy, energetic kid in fourth and fifth grade. At the end of fifth grade, during a routine checkup, my dentist said I needed braces, because of a slight overbite. Back in those days, if you needed braces, dentists would routinely extract permanent teeth to allow for the braces. They pulled two teeth from my lower jaw, and two teeth from the top, and began tightening the braces.

Years later, when the braces were removed, my mouth and jaw were pushed back against my throat, and I had a receding chin. I developed dark circles under my eyes, and felt “overwhelmed” by sixth grade. I didn’t know what was wrong with me, but suddenly life was horrible. Everything was overwhelming to me. My parents told me it was “just a phase” but it didn’t go away; it got worse. I went from being an “A” student to failing my classes. I developed a severe and debilitating social phobia.

The rest of middle school and highs chool were spent hiding from people, hiding in my room. After dropping out of college, I got on antidepressants. I was on them for thirty years. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. They told me it was most likely caused by the orthdontia, pushing my jaw back. Gee, thanks for telling me! I wonder how my life would have been different if I’d been allowed to keep my overbite and forgo the extraction and orthodontia…

I tried C-PAP but felt like I was dying and on life support. All my sleep doc could recommend was to sew a tennis ball into the back of my pajamas, to prevent sleeping on my back. He didn’t know anything about any alternatives to C-PAP.

I have an appointment with a different sleep doc next week. I’m hoping to be fitted with a dental device that will push my tongue and jaw forward enough so that I can get some restorative, slow-wave sleep, and perhaps get my life back (what’s left of it).
Dr. Steven Y. Park on December 13th, 2009 7:36 pm

Roger V,

Unfortunately, your story is relatively common. The jaw is pushed back for various cosmetic or functional reasons, or multiple teeth are extracted during orthodontics. Good luck with your oral appliance. It’s a good alternative treatment option to CPAP.

Hopefully, your obstruction is still limited to the tongue. If you have soft palate and nasal obstruction, you may need to address these issues as well. Sometimes nasal congestion can prevent optimal CPAP or oral appliance use.

As a last resort, soft tissue surgery or jaw surgery are definitely other options worth looking into.