Bill HangDental Practitioner, Lecturer at OrthO2Health

Dr. Hang on National Television Talking About Kids

6 Nov 2014 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:08

In a televised interview, Dr. William (Bill) Hang expands the public’s view of orthodontics beyond straightening teeth, describing orthotropics—a technique developed over 50 years ago that guides facial growth to improve airway, breathing, sleep, and facial profile. He explains that many children experience backward and downward jaw growth due to mouth breathing, leading to compromised airways and related issues such as snoring, restless sleep, hyperactivity, headaches, and facial pain. By intervening early—ideally before age 10 and sometimes as young as 3 or 4—orthotropics can reverse unfavorable growth patterns and promote forward growth, potentially avoiding future surgeries. Hang outlines observable signs that suggest a child may benefit from orthotropic treatment (mouth breathing, snoring, restless sleep, hyperactivity, crowding, weak chin, gummy smile) and introduces a simple diagnostic metric called the "cosmetic line," which measures the distance from the upper front tooth edge to the tip of the nose and compares it to age‑adjusted norms (21 + age for females, 23 + age for males). Children exceeding the ideal by 5 mm or more are recommended for treatment. The interview includes brief case anecdotes—a 5‑year‑old boy whose airway was opened, leading to peaceful sleep, and a young girl whose profile and need for future surgery were dramatically improved. The segment concludes with a call to action, directing viewers to facefocus.com to download a tool for assessing their child’s facial growth.

When you hear the word orthodontist, you most likely think of someone who straightens teenagers' teeth. But have you ever considered that an orthodontist could also change your profile, affect how well you breathe, or perhaps eliminate those headaches and facial pain you've learned to live with? Dr. William Hang loves giving patients beautiful smiles, but tells us there can be a whole lot more to orthodontics than straightening teeth.
Many children have faces which fall down and back due to mouth breathing, or orthodontics which brings the teeth down and back in the face. As the upper and lower jaws fall back with unfavorable growth, The airway is compromised in the back of the throat. Using orthotropics, a technique which was developed more than 50 years ago, children can have their airways improved dramatically. Seeing children prior to approximately age 10, much earlier than the traditional time for orthodontics when all the teeth are in the mouth, the beginnings of this downward and backward growth can be reversed with orthotropics and good habits learned to promote more forward growth. This is facial growth guidance. We even see children as young as 3 or 4. This is the airway of a 5-year-old boy who stopped breathing at night. We opened his airway with orthotropics, and he now sleeps peacefully. This young girl was told she would need surgery later on in life.
Before, her profile looked very, looked very off, and now she actually has a normal profile. Her face is balanced.
Some of the signs to look for are mouth breathing, Snoring, restless sleeping, hyperactivity, crowding of teeth, weak chins, and gummy smiles. The simplest and most predictable way is to measure what is called the cosmetic line. Measure the distance from the edge of the upper front tooth to the tip of the nose. That measurement in millimeters ideally would be 21 plus the child's age in years for a female, and 23 plus the child's age in years for a male. Any child with a number of 5 millimeters or more than the ideal should seek orthotropic treatment.
Go to facefocus.com and download the tool which will show you if your own child's face is growing favorably or unfavorably. Dr. William Hang, guiding children's facial growth for balanced profiles and healthy breathing.