Profile Orthodontics and Facial Orthopedics

09/10/2024

We are moving!

Due to the overwhelming support and growth of PROFILE over this past year, we have outgrown our current space! Coming June of 2025, we will be working alongside INSPIRE- Allergy & Immunology in our new multispecialty location. As our parent company Helix Health continues to improve access to care across the state, we will work alongside new healthcare specialties in the years to come!

We will be located just west of Firethorn Golf Club resort. We look forward to keeping you updated on the construction process throughout the next several months!

At PROFILE - Orthodontics & Facial Orthopedics, we take a modern approach to healthcare.

27/03/2024

Transformation Wednesday!

This patient presented to us for clear aligner therapy. He had very narrow dental arches, moderate crowding, and protrusion of his front teeth.

We leveled, aligned, and expanded his dental arch with Spark Aligners. We then finished his treatment with gingivoplasty and enameloplasty. He finished treatment with an excellent result.

Interested in how we can change your smile, facial profile, or self-confidence? We treat anything from the smallest rotations of a few teeth to a complete facial correction.

If you have any questions or would like a second opinion from a specialist, please visit our website at ProfileOrtho.com or call 531-893-2928. We currently have locations in Lincoln and Omaha!

Modern Healthcare. Modern You

06/03/2024

I get the question all the time: “Why are we not correcting the lower jaw in Phase I?”

Unlike the upper jaw, the lower jaw suture fuses around age 1. This happens at the mental symphysis (chin). So, most of the time, (aside from craniofacial syndromes), the lower jaw itself is not actually narrow it’s more so that the teeth in the lower jaw are tipped in. They are usually tipped in due to the upper jaw being too small. This is why we expand!

What about the length? There is a very large genetic component to the length of the lower jaw. However, environmental and epigenetics also play a large role as well. Again, unlike the upper jaw, the lower jaw grows down and forward much later than the upper. Thus, we are focusing on the width and length of the upper jaw around that 5-9 year range, and the lower jaw length in the 12-18 year range.

Moral of the story-TIMING IS KEY!

ALL children should have a physical examination by a specialist in Orthodontics and Facial Orthopedics at LATEST age 7! If symptoms before, we can see much younger! I see patients as young as 2 and 3 years old if needed.

Facial growth and development is NOT THE ROLE OF THE PEDIATRICIAN! It is NOT the role of the Pediatric Dentist, ENT, or P*P. This is why many times patients come in and say, “my pediatrician said everything is normal.” That is because they are not specialists in facial growth and development. They are not looking at how the jaws fit together, how the TMJ is placed correctly in the socket, how the crossbite is causing midface deficiency, etc. You know what, that’s OKAY.

Because we are here!

We are the only provider that is specifically trained to diagnose and treat facial growth and development abnormalities. We are specifically trained to evaluate how the teeth, tongue, TMJ, and airway are affecting facial growth and development. This is why it’s so important for facial growth checks to be PART of your well-child visits every year!

If you have any questions or would like a second opinion from a specialist, please visit our website at ProfileOrtho.com or call 531-893-2928.

📍Lincoln 📍Omaha

Modern Healthcare. Modern You

At PROFILE - Orthodontics & Facial Orthopedics, we take a modern approach to healthcare.

14/02/2024

Looking this good never gets old!

This intradisciplinary case presented to us with peg lateral incisors, narrow maxillary arch, enamel wear, and excessive gingival show.

We leveled, aligned, and expanded her dental arch with self-ligating brackets. We then finished her treatment with gingivoplasty, enameloplasty, and composite restorations on lateral incisors.

Interested in how we can change your smile, facial profile, or self-confidence? We treat anything from the smallest rotations of a few teeth to a complete facial correction.

If you have any questions or would like a second opinion from a specialist, please visit our website at ProfileOrtho.com or call 531-893-2928. We currently have locations in Lincoln and Omaha!

Modern Healthcare. Modern You

07/02/2024

YES, we treat children at 4 years old! Craniofacial abnormalities should be corrected as soon as possible!

This case involved ENT, Allergy, Physical Therapy, Primary Care, and Orthopedics. The airway was obstructed (very enlarged adenoids), which led to facial growth changes! We likely avoided facial surgery in the future with this early treatment.

Skeletal problems are known as underbite, crossbite, reverse overjet, etc. A lot of times in growing children it’s a SKELETAL problem not a TOOTH problem.

Midface hypoplasia often presents itself as a reverse overjet dentition. (The upper jaw and teeth were trapped behind the lower jaw and teeth. Thus, preventing his midface from growing properly). With traction of the upper jaw and midface, you can protract the midface. This allows you to correct the crossbite and promote proper growth of the upper jaw. Traction continues over several months to correct the underdevelopment of the upper jaw.

If correction not obtained at a young age (under 10), this can result in a concave midface and almost certain facial surgery in the future. Facial orthopedics is often medically necessary to treat early.

Having been trained in craniofacial orthopedics and been a provider on the craniofacial team at Children’s Hospital, I am uniquely qualified to treat children with these types of conditions. If you see this in your child DO NOT WAIT!

We always take referrals from any healthcare provider, but a referral is not needed. All children should have a physical exam by a specialist in facial orthopedics by age 5-7, and earlier if symptoms present! This should be part of your well-child check!

If you have any questions or would like a second opinion from a specialist, please visit our website at ProfileOrtho.com or call 531-893-2928. We currently have locations in Lincoln and Omaha!

At PROFILE - Orthodontics & Facial Orthopedics, we take a modern approach to healthcare.

03/01/2024

UARS --> Mouth breathing & Low tongue posture --> Skeletal facial changes

Let’s get this straight, oral appliances, tongue tie releases, and myo therapy DOES NOT correct UARS. We have to FIRST correct the etiology, then correct the habits and skeletal changes.

Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome can present itself in several ways. The most common are adenotonsillar hypertrophy (enlarged tonsils and adenoids), turbinate hypertrophy (inflammation in the nasal passage), and deviated nasal septum.

Inability for proper nasal breathing caused by UARS, can also have detrimental effects on facial development. This is mostly due to low tongue posture, open mouth breathing, and anterior tongue thrusting. When a child is constantly open mouth breathing, the tongue can never be in the correct position on the roof of the mouth. This can be a large contributor to transverse deficiency (narrow upper jaw). This leads to dental crowding and possible impactions.

With that being said, no oral appliance will correct the UARS. This is a TEAM approach. We have to first work with ENT or Allergy for possible adenotonsillectomy, or allergy testing. THEN myofunctional therapy needs to work on the incorrect oral dysfunction. THEN orthopedic and orthodontic correction can take place. Most practices skip to the orthodontic treatment and miss all the prior steps. This leads to RELAPSE!

This is ANOTHER reason why an exam with a specialist in Facial Orthopedics is important for your growing child. If UARS could be a factor, we work with other providers intown to FIRST get the airway corrected THEN guide facial development and any dental correction needed.

Modern Healthcare. Modern You