In this testimonial, a patient recounts lifelong health problems—severe headaches, chronic breathing difficulty, a recessed chin, and facial profile issues—stemming from orthodontic practices in the 1980s that used headgear and tooth extractions. She describes how conventional orthodontists continued these outdated methods, causing further harm. After seeking help for her daughter, she discovered Dr. Bill Hang, who employs modern, airway‑focused orthodontics such as the BioBlock system, expanders, braces, and coordinated orthognathic surgery. The treatment restored her airway, eliminated headaches, improved facial aesthetics, and dramatically increased her physical activity capacity. Her daughter Hannah, who faced severe orthodontic challenges, received similar care, resulting in a transformed facial structure, better breathing, and elite athletic opportunities (volleyball national‑team training). The speaker becomes an advocate, warning against headgear and extractions, urging parents to research orthodontic options, and praising Dr. Hang’s holistic, non‑extraction approach as essential for overall health.
Chapters
You know, pretty much out of high school— out of college, I started having headaches. Some were severe and didn't know if it was, you know, even where they stemmed from, if it was lack of sleep or what have you, so it was pretty unexplained. But something I just kind of dealt with. And I always never really could run. I did athletics, but I had a hard time breathing and didn't realize I really just had a hard time breathing all the time and didn't really know what I was missing. You know, it's like someone who needs glasses and has needed glasses their whole life and then didn't realize how bad their vision was until they got the glasses and they could see the birds in the trees. So did I know I was suffering? No. Did I go through bottles of Tylenol? Yes. But didn't realize that I was handicapped in a lot of respects. I knew that, you know, I wasn't happy with my profile. You know, I have a very recessed face and never wanted to ever be shown or anybody take my picture from the side because, you know, my chin just dropped off. But that's, you know, that was something that I had as a result of my 1980s orthodontic care when I had headgear. I lost any chin that I had, but I didn't know that I lost a lot more, which was my airway and my, you know, ability to be free of headaches. As time went on, my teeth even migrated more to the point where it was impactful, and then the headaches were more frequent. So to go to your local orthodontist who may not be using the latest techniques and is still using headgear, because they are out there, and I'm shocked that they are still doing headgear and they're pulling teeth, that not only is your money not well spent, but you're actually, you're probably doing more harm than good. You'd be better off with crooked teeth and keeping your airway intact. And not pushing and moving back in your face your teeth. You know, I have an attitude that, you know, if you're going to do something, you've got to do it right. And it doesn't make any sense. You know, I had my teeth straightened. I went through a full course of orthodontics. And they still do that approach today, and you can find that in many places. And it didn't do me any good. So for that, I'm so thankful that Dr. Hang is here and that I was able to find him when I needed him for my daughter, and then in turn, you know, he was able to help me, which was an added bonus that I never ever thought could be done. The moment I woke up in the hospital, you know, I went to Dr. Hang, did all the preliminary work, and it was so wonderful, you know, getting and working with the physician to get everything just perfect prior to having surgery, because I didn't have the benefit of being a young person who could You know, manipulate things before things are set. And since, you know, I'm an adult, I had to have the surgery option. Dr. Hang worked with the physician very closely, so they were in sync. Did my treatment with Dr. Hang and then had the surgery. And literally waking up in ICU was a very poignant moment in my life because they just removed the breathing tube And all of a sudden, I felt like I had something lifted off of my chest. And that was the beginning of like a whole different experience for me. It truly was. And I've never looked back. It's just been amazing. I have you, and I have a great group of friends, of 9 girlfriends that we do things, and we're very, very active. We all go snowboarding together, and we snowshoe up 2,000 feet. sides of mountains, and I mean, we just have an amazing time together, and I couldn't even possibly think that I would even try to do anything like that. Well, I've got, like I said, 3 kids, and 2 of them have needed Dr. Hang's assistance. And I have to thank Hannah, my oldest— I have twin daughters— and I have to thank her for For having me find Dr. Hang because her mouth was so challenging that it took 5 before I really felt comfortable that I was in the right place because I was really concerned. She was so much like me, and I knew that I didn't want her at that time, not knowing what Dr. Hang could do for airways and not even knowing, you know, what I had done to myself. I just knew I didn't want her teeth to be pulled and that there had to be a better way. And they were suggesting pulling teeth and all kinds of very dramatic treatment. So by having Hannah see Dr. Hang, he was able to bring out her jaw all through a BioBlock system that if I was a child at that time, could have done for me that I had to do for surgery. So she went through Dr. Hang's complete bag of tricks, you know, everything he possibly had to do. He said very rarely does he ever see a child that you'd want to put braces on their baby teeth, but she is a case that needed it. It was that severe. So, you know, from the BioBlock to the braces to now retainers and expanders, she has a beautiful mouth. And she She had a prominent nose before, and now she doesn't, and the chin came out, and I mean, she is gorgeous. And I hate to think of what it would have been like, you know, and the other side of it, the headaches and the other things that would have come along with not doing it correctly. That is why I am such an advocate that you have got to keep your airway intact because, you know, that is so much of your health. She's an athlete. She plays volleyball. And she's an amazing athlete. So she's training, you know, she's going to a USA volleyball camp for special athletes that they're training for the U.S. national team. So for that, could she have ever made— could she have ever had those opportunities? You know, probably not. But now, you know, at 13— 13. You know, she's training with top coaches for the potential of maybe making the national team when she gets older. She's on a number one club team. But I don't think she would have had those opportunities, which is amazing. And we're talking about teeth. We're talking about— when people think of orthodontics, they think about, oh, we want straight teeth. But it's not about teeth. It's about much more than that. I love to sing the praises of Dr. Hang, and when, you know, I have the opportunity, I try to share it with everybody I know because, you know, people sometimes, I think, are not inclined to do anything that's different. And, you know, they know everybody else from the elementary school goes to a certain orthodontist, and everybody does that, but they haven't done their research. And I think You know, as a parent, you really, you need to know what kind of treatment and the long-term effects. And I believe the whole community has been, and even the public, are ill-informed as orthodontics and the change and the new developments and what you should be looking for when you seek care. People have found him from Alaska and will come down here to Westlake Village. And I just think everybody should know about him because You know, he is where orthodontics are today. It's not headgear, it's not pulling teeth, but yet those people still exist. And I know I wanted better for my daughter, and I didn't want teeth to be pulled. And, you know, he's just amazing. You know, he does care about the whole face. You don't know what you're missing. You really don't know. But once I had the ability to breathe and Then to have my jaw in proper alignment where I didn't suffer from headaches, I mean, I just, I couldn't believe what I had missed. And for that, I am so grateful, and my life is so much fuller. I'm able to do so many more things. I'm really active, and I play a lot of sports, and it just has made a big difference on my health. I'm going to be a much healthier, happier person, all because of— Dr. Bill Hang. My orthodontic care, which is, is silly to me to think that that had so much to do with my whole body health.
