Biobloc Orthotropics

Rather than waiting for all the adult teeth to erupt in a child's mouth and then attempting to move the teeth to fit into the jaws of mouth, biobloc orthotropics offers an alternative.  The main idea behind biobloc is to redirect and encourage the proper growth of a child’s jaws so that there will be enough room for the adult teeth when they all erupt into the mouth.  This treatment eliminates the potential for the child to need either teeth extracted or jaw surgery to have his/her teeth fit together properly later in life.  Along with great dental advantages there are great esthetic and health advantages for the recipients of this treatment.  Biobloc orthotropics is a time sensitive treatment that is most successful when done on a child between the ages of seven and ten years old.

General Problem:  As a consequence of a variety of factors (modern diet, thumb sucking, allergies, etc.) a large number of people do not develop proper rest oral posture (the tongue is not in the proper position in the mouth when the mouth is at rest) and as a result the growth and development of their face is adversely affected. The human face needs to grow predominately horizontal to develop enough room for the adult teeth and tongue.  Without proper rest oral posture the face does not grow horizontally but rather vertically, downward and sometime even backwards.  The initial problem is the upper jaw (the maxilla) is too narrow and too far back relative to the face.  This narrow maxilla does not provide enough space for the tongue to rest at the roof of the mouth so proper rest oral posture is not achieved.  This then affects the growth of the lower jaw (the mandible) by holding it back or trapping it by the upper jaw.

Consequences:  The negative outcomes of this can range from “minor issues” such as teeth crowding, jaw clenching, teeth grinding, jaw pain, neck pain, and headaches to more serious issues which present later in life as migraines and obstructive sleep apnea (which is closely correlated medically with heart attacks and strokes).

Solution:  In order to prevent these consequences proper rest oral posture needs to be established which is done by redirecting growth in a more favorable, forward direction.  This can only be done with Biobloc Orthotropic (BBO) treatment.

BBO:  BBO is treatment which modifies growth.  It is not orthodontics!  While BBO involves braces and appliances it does not have the end goal of straight teeth, however crowded teeth are always corrected with BBO.  Its purpose is to set up and guide healthy and attractive facial development.  There is an ideal age range for BBO treatment and that is when the first primary teeth begin to fall out up until about 6 months before the last primary teeth fall out (approximately between the ages 6-10), but the earlier the treatment is started the better.  BBO is not new it was developed in the 1950’s by a British Orthodontist, Dr. John Mew.  Dr. William Hang learned the BBO techniques from Dr. Mew and now Dr. Hang is considered the North American grandfather of BBO treatment and has been using BBO techniques and philosophy at his practice in California for over 30 years.

BBO Benefits:  BBO was first developed to improve facial appearance but the health benefits discovered as a side effect to treatment outweigh the cosmetic benefits.  Some major health benefits include the development of a larger airway for breathing, a decrease in chance of future head and neck pain, stable temporomandibular joints (TMJs) and straighter posture.  Also with every case of BBO treatment there will be cosmetic benefits unique to each individual.