Imagine a world where orthodontic treatment is completed before the eruption of the first permanent tooth. I have been proposing this as a worthy goal of orthodontics for many years.
Am I crazy? Many colleagues thought so.
“Dr. Hang, you are straightening kids’ baby teeth? What a charlatan you are! Do you not know that baby teeth all fall out? How do you sleep at night ripping people off like that?”
Parents seeking second opinions from other orthodontists often told me I was known as “that guy” in the community.
I have often said, “Straightening teeth in adolescence is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.”
Why would I say that? Because ignoring poor rest oral posture allows the face to “melt down” into a long, convex shape. The airway behind the soft palate and tongue becomes compromised. Sleep and breathing problems worsen with time. By adolescence, when all the permanent teeth are in, many children are already suffering brain damage.
My good friend, Dr. Phil Cooper of Savannah, GA, wrote Why African American Children Can’t Read. He concluded that many children have brain damage from untreated OSA by the time they start school at age six. This affects children of every race.
Ron Harper, PhD neurobiologist at UCLA, has published MRI-based research showing that very young children with sleep and breathing disorders can suffer permanent brain damage from even one night of reduced oxygen saturation.
Please don’t just take my word for it. Look up his research. If you need help, ask a 10 year old who knows their way around the internet—but hopefully one who does not already suffer from airway-related brain damage.
To catch airway dysfunction early, here are warning signs:
Lips apart at rest
Snoring
Restless sleep
Inattention or hyperactivity
Impulsivity
Bedwetting beyond the usual age
Noisy eating
Dark circles under the eyes
Frequent colds or ear infections
Forward head posture
Primary teeth with no spacing
Each of these is smoke. Left unchecked, that smoke leads to fire.
Why would you wait to call the fire department? Why would you allow a child to suffer brain damage? Why ignore ADHD symptoms and let a child be marginalized in society?
Every dentist who sees children already has a practice full of these kids. Have you started asking parents the right questions? Do you have children of your own showing these signs? Are you doing something about it?
If not, why not?
And yes, I do know baby teeth fall out—I learned that firsthand at age six when mine started to loosen. I still want to orthodontically treat children before that time.
