In this testimonial, a nutritionist denounces the prevailing orthodontic practice of extracting multiple teeth to achieve straight teeth quickly, arguing that it neglects functional development and leads to long‑term health problems. She explains how premature extractions can stunt jaw growth, narrow airways, cause chronic sinus infections, sleep‑disordered breathing, reduced concentration, and poorer athletic performance. She introduces functional orthodontics and the BioBlock device as a way to guide proper jaw development during the rapid growth phase, preserving oral posture and airway space. The speaker recounts a specific case of a 14‑year‑old girl whose premolars were extracted; after consulting Dr. Hang, she underwent surgical and orthodontic treatment, including jaw expansion and implant placement, resulting in restored teeth, improved facial structure, better function, and a dramatically enhanced appearance. The nutritionist emphasizes her role in advising families, urging early intervention, and recommending Dr. Hang as a trusted functional orthodontist.
Chapters
Most of the orthodontists today that I have seen in our area, their primary goal is to give the child straight teeth at all costs. And if that means taking out 4 teeth, 8 teeth, they're doing it. And they're completely neglecting function in order to achieve what they feel is the fastest way to a straight teeth smile. And the kids suffer. I see it all the time. I see a lot of children, older children in my practice that are coming to me because they have chronic sinus infections, and they want an alternative to antibiotics. So their mothers are bringing them in, and while there are certain things I can do to help them fight the infection from from a more natural perspective, I tell the mothers, the bottom line is, I'm sorry, but your 18-year-old needs remediation work from a functional orthodontist. And there's only one person I recommend, and that would be Dr. Hang. And how much easier, though, it would have been to have corrected the problem when they were, you know, 8, 9, 10. And still had all that rapid growth potential and could have been directed properly through the BioBlock. The BioBlock helps direct the way the jaw is going to grow. Basically locks the oral posture into a position that facilitates the bone to grow to its full potential during that rapid period of growth. When you start extracting teeth, It's just, it's my— I look at it as like taking a tent, and if you have a tent that's supposed to have so many posts, what happens if you start removing those posts? The tent starts collapsing. With the jaw, when the jaw is not framed properly and doesn't develop full and wide, then you're going to start seeing the face sink in as a person ages. You're also going to see less room for the airways, so their breathing capacity is going to diminish, which is going to affect the way they think, their ability to concentrate. It's going to affect, as they get older, their propensity towards sleep apnea, which is going to increase their risk of stroke or heart attack. Athletically, it's going to affect kids' performances. In the long run, their bite is never going to be proper when teeth are extracted. They're never going to have enough room for their tongue to sit comfortably where it should, and therefore the airways are going to be restricted. And they are literally going to always be fighting for adequate oxygenation. If your body subconsciously is having to constantly work to get adequate oxygen, I believe you're not going to be in a real relaxed state like you would be If you had proper oral posture. So I think at some level, not only is it affecting your bite, not only is it affecting the way you sleep, and adequate oxygen to the brain and the heart at night, but it's also affecting just your state of calmness during the day. Because when your body is subconsciously having to always compensate— That's a stressor. And nowadays I think these kids have enough stressors. They're over-computerized, they're, you know, they've all got phones, they've got, you know, they're constantly being overstimulated. And then on top of that, if underlying that stress they have the stress of not getting proper oxygen, I think it's a disaster. My client called me. She's a close friend too. Called me at home, left a message. Said, we're at Dr. So-and-so's. They want to extract our daughter's 2— or, you know, 4 teeth. I feel uneasy about this. Can you give me a call back? Well, by the time I got the message, got back to her, I was an hour late. The teeth were gone. I said, I hate to tell you this, but I think you've made a huge mistake. They've made a huge mistake. You should have listened to your gut on this one. But I'm going to suggest that you go up and see Dr. Hang. And I feel so strongly about this, if you want me to, I will drive you up. I will drive your daughter up. But you don't— you don't want to let them close the space. So she discussed it with her husband. Her husband's a dear. He said, okay, honey, Let's at least explore that option before we go further. They came up and saw Dr. Hang. He presented, you know, his information, explained to them why it was so critical that they keep the space. They said absolutely, started working with Dr. Hang, which in her case, because the teeth were gone, you know, they had to put the— Implant. I guess they would be implants back in. She had a very, very much underdeveloped jawline. She was 14, so she was past the stage of being able to do the BioBlock. Dr. Hang sent them to his colleague in Texas who does the oral surgery, which is a huge commitment financially, emotionally, physically, being— from California, that meant travel. They were going to be staying in Texas for a couple weeks. They made the decision, went back. We did some things to make sure that she had all the proper nutrition while they were there, and they spent 2 weeks in Texas and could not be happier. It's about a 6-week recovery, but their daughter is Just beautiful. She was a really pretty girl anyway, but she's just gorgeous now. She's got her 4 teeth back, she's got her jaw expanded, her function has gone up, and they have told me time and time again, thank you so much for letting us know about Dr. Hang's work. So when you get the chance to help intervene and see a young girl blossom like that, it's so rewarding and it's so nice to be able to, with lots of confidence, suggest that somebody take such radical steps knowing that they're going to be in great hands with Dr. Hang.
