Orthotropics Experience?

[Peony250]

Hello! I am hoping that those of you whose children have had orthotropics can give me some feedback. I am considering this for my son who has sleep apnea, a slightly receding jaw, and a "gummy" smile. He is always tired, and I do not want to have him on C-Pap for years on end.
Has this helped your child, and is worth the great expense? Any regrets?Thanks for any help!
There are a few old threads here on this subject, but they are from 3-6 years ago.

We are just a couple of months into it. DD's adenoidal space is around half of what it should be, I am hoping that will be helped amongst other things. Sorry I can't be if too much help. She has only had her appliances tightened twice, but already, we are seeing results.

Can you tell me what results you have noticed so far? Thanks!

Ds1 had this. He had a high narrow palate and his bottom jaw was bigger than the top. Linked with his tongue tie and mouth breathing.

He had gentle palate expansion and headgear to bring out his top jaw and open his airways.

Within a few weeks, all his snoring/ restlessness and apnoea stopped.

We are at the wait and see stage just now while his adult teeth sort themselves out (he's 10 now) but he won't need any extractions and might not even need fixed braces.

It has truly changed his quality of life and I don't like to imagine where he would be without it.

You've probably read my threads before (I recognise your name!!) so sorry if repeating x

Her palate has already begun To expand and this first appliance is also to help her tongue thrust which is very strong. Her teeth on the bottom are already less overlapped- they are aiming to expand and shape this correctly. The top is starting to space out too. The second appliance will bring her bottom jaw forward, easing her breathing issues, glue ear and bring I got the teeth in line. Like mawbroon, she may or may not need 'train tracks' when al leer adult teeth come through, but there will be far far more room than if we had done nothing yet.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Best of luck!

Thank you for your feedback. Thats so great that his quality of life has improved! Thats what Im hoping for my son. Was there a stage in the treatment where your son's teeth were tipping up, almost parallel to the floor? My doctor has said this will happen in my son's treatment....doesn't sound too nice, as Im sure he will be self -conscious. Also he will need to speak with his teeth together during most of the treatment..ugh. Was this your experience, too? Thanks.

Peony, we have been told there will be an ugly duckling stage, where the top teeth will look very sticky outy, but all. Can do is warn her and tell her to warn her friends! Really hoping these treatments will be done before she moves schools at 11.

Anyone else want to tell me of their experience with orthotropics- good or bad? Thanks!

Hi-I'm interested in this too! My six and half year old is having problems and we are also considering it. There is someone on here called Soupdragon and all three of her kids are having it done and she thinks very highly of it and of Mike and John Mew that do it. Maybe you can pm her to ask more questions. We actually went for an assessment with Mike Mew in October and thought he was very dedicated and passionate about the work he does. The assessment is £200 and was pretty in depth with lots of photos and assessment of mouth breathing, tongue ties, facial angles etc. Ive researched it quite a bit and think the results they get are impressive in terms of facial structure, not requiring any extractions and also increasing airway space that is so important for long term heath. Where are you based? The problem we have is that we are in Glasgow and will be a nightmare to get there as frequently as is required at least in the early stages of treatment. If the palate needs to be expanded then you need to go back every two weeks for six months or more which for us would be really difficult and also very expensive on top of the treatment costs.

Some of these websites talk about sleep apnea and dental issues with regards to adults and children and I've also read that Buteyko technique can help sleep apnea and help stop mouth breathing which can be one of the causes of the dental issues in the first place. Mike Mew also recommended it to us.

www.mouthmattersbook.com/

www.righttogrow.org/

If Mawbroon who commented above reads this I wonder if she could let me know where her dS1 had his treatment as Ive seen her comment on here before that her wee one is being treated in Scotland and that would make a huge difference if we can get treated up here. Or if anyone knows of someone doing Orthotropics or similar full facial functional orthodontics up here that would be great too!

Peony250 if I find out any more info or any more good links I'll let you know!

Hi Woblewoman
Its great you found out about this when your child is still young. My son is borderline, age- wise (9) but the doctor thinks he would still benefit.

We have already been doing Buteyko breathing and working with a orofacial myologist for 7 months. It has helped my son's mouth breathing issues greatly. But, he still breathes through his mouth when sleeping. Would have been more helpful if he was younger.

Maybe you could message those posters privately to get answers on your questions.

Thanks for the links, and good luck!