Pediatric orthodontist for sleep apnea
Can anyone recommend a pediatric orthodontist or someone practicing orthodontics with young children? My son is 4 and has a severe overbite, snores at times, grinds teeth, and results from sleep study show mild sleep disturbance. I'm mostly worried about the effects of obstructed airway on his development, physical and emotional health. His dad has severe sleep apnea and we fear our son is headed down the same road. We are interested in early intervention and prevention. We've explored dr. Hockel in walnut creek but would like another opinion before pursuing costly, serious treatment. As a parent, I want to be sure we can trust the provider before signing on and that treatment is appropriate and effective. We live in Oakland but are willing to travel up to 45min or an hour if need be. I'm all for thinking outside of the box but also want to pursue treatment substantiated by evidence, especially since our son will be scared and resist treatment to the best of his ability. Thanks so very much.
Parent Replies
Hi,
I've been looking for an orthodontist for my 13 year old. I came across Dr. Ferrari in Kensington at http://ferrariorthodontics.com/ and we have a consultation in a few weeks. On the website, she discusses airway issues and treatment for this. Hope this helps.
Hi,
Dr Patricia Choi in Fremont is an excellent Orthodontist. She is excellent with kids and fixed my daughter's teeth.
Dr Jennings in Alameda is an orthodontist who is also a cranial facial practitioner. He has a holistic view on orthodontics and has treated my daughter with congenital scoliosis and my other daughter who was recommended oral surgery prior to being treated at Berkeley Ortho.
Thanks to Dr Jennings we were able to postpone my daughter's back fusion surgery by 5 (!) years, and my other daughter never had to have oral surgery.
The cons to going to Dr Jennings is that his office is at the very tip of Alameda, and his treatments take years- so you need to be fully committed. It was waaaay worth it for our family!
Moderator Note: Dr. Jennings is not an orthodontist and does not describe himself as such on his website http://tmjoakland.com/dr-dwight-jennings
Have you visited an ENT? My daughter had her adenoids removed at age 4 and it really improved things. Hers were extremely enlarged and caused breathing difficulty especially at night.
We saw a pediatric ENT after a sleep study confirmed our 10 year old had sleep apnea. They removed the tonsils and adenoids and all was good after that.
I would highly recommend Dr. Claire Ferrari in Kensington. I have two children and they have both received treatment from her. One of them had suffered from sleep apnea, and Dr. Ferrari and her team have worked wonders to transform his airways. Not only is she a superb orthodontist, she has done advanced training studying airways and sleep. Her office uses the latest imaging technology to help her see patient airways much better than normal orthodontists. She takes the time to talk about the symptoms and helps get necessary information to the ENT. Apparently making the jaws bigger with orthdontics at an early age can prevent sleep apnea in adulthood.
Strongly recommend Dr Ferrari in Kensignton. She has state of the art 3-D scanning and the expertise required for your case. Also, since she is a small practice you can't beat her personal care towards patients. http://ferrariorthodontics.com/
Dr. Claire Ferrari is fantastic. I cannot recommend her enough. She has guided and helped me for about a decade in the orthodontic care for my son. Her office is in Kensington. You will not be disappointed. She is brilliant!