ORTHODONTISTS11:48 p.m.
The best airway orthodontists, for families who aren't sleeping.
Tell us what you hear at night. We'll introduce you to a doctor near you who we've reviewed by hand. Free for families, and every doctor passes the same review.
Micaire H., parent · Google review of Aligned Orthodontics, Denver
PAUSE · 11 SEC
GASP
AIRWAY EXAM · 3D SCAN · A PLAN
BREATHING THROUGH THE NOSE
WAKES UP RESTED
Tonight
Snoring, pauses, gasping.
Their body works all night just to keep air moving, so they wake up tired no matter how long they slept.
What can be fixed
Find the cause, then treat it.
A narrow palate, a low tongue, big tonsils or a tongue-tie. Depending on the cause, that means an expander, myofunctional therapy or an ENT.
After
Quiet, steady breathing.
Breathing through the nose, sleeping through the night, and waking up ready for the day.
Credentials you can check.
Every claim on this page links to the doctor's own site. Click any one and see for yourself.
Researched how to screen kids for sleep apnea
Her orthodontic residency research at VCU studied screening tools for pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.
Teaches the next generation
Board-certified, and an assistant professor in VCU's orthodontic residency program.
Top Dentist, every year since 2019
Named by Richmond Magazine each year, and a Virginia Living Top Dentist in 2025 and 2026.
Wrote the airway guide parents download
Author of Breathe Well, Grow Well, a free guide to early orthodontics and airway health.
More than 20,000 cases
An orthodontic specialist since 1994, trained at the University of Florida.
A 3D CBCT scan at every consultation
The free first visit includes a 3D scan, so the airway gets looked at from day one.
2:14 a.m.
Is it more than snoring?
She snores most nights. Her mouth hangs open during cartoons. She grinds her teeth, still wets the bed at six, wakes up tired, and her teacher says she can't sit still.
Or it's you. Eight hours in bed, headaches by breakfast, a sore jaw, and a CPAP you can't stand.
And it doesn't stay in the bedroom. How a child breathes can shape how their jaw and face grow, crowd their teeth, and wear on focus, mood and energy all day long.
Breathing problems rarely look like breathing problems. One sign alone isn't urgent. The pattern over weeks is what matters, and it's worth catching while kids are still growing.
Pauses, gasping or choking in their sleep?
Call your pediatrician first. That's a medical question, and it shouldn't wait for an orthodontic visit.
4:40 a.m. · From our conversation with Dr. Kevin Bibona
"The roof of the mouth is also the floor of the nose."
So a narrow upper jaw can leave less room to breathe through the nose. That's why a kid who mouth-breathes all day deserves a closer look, and why timing matters while they're still growing.
Orthodontist, Richmond Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics
Hear Dr. Vanderstelt explain it herself.
Two podcast conversations with the Denver orthodontist on why airway comes first.
5:52 a.m.
Saying it isn't enough.
Any orthodontist can say they treat the airway. Before anyone is listed, they have to pass three checks, in this order. Miss one and they're out.
Who runs this guide.
Best Airway Orthodontists is run by Starts with Strategy, a marketing company that works with orthodontists. Doctors who are our clients are labeled on their listing. Nobody can pay to be listed, and being a client doesn't get anyone in. Every practice passes the same three checks.
- 1
What patients say
We read their reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook and Healthgrades, looking for patients who describe better breathing or better sleep in their own words.
- 2
What the practice shows
The practice has to explain its airway approach on its own website, with real treatment detail. One line on a services list doesn't count.
- 3
What the doctor tells us
We talk with the doctor about how they screen for breathing problems, and who they work with: sleep physicians, ENTs, myofunctional therapists.
6:31 a.m.
The doctors who passed.
Each one cleared all three checks. Here's why, with links so you can see for yourself. Request a consultation and we'll send your details straight to the practice.
Dr. Kevin Bibona
RPDO · Richmond, VA
Starts with Strategy client
Every airway workup covers sleep history, tongue posture and tongue-tie, and the shape of the palate. When the cause looks medical, he sends families to an ENT or allergist instead of starting treatment.
Dr. Amanda Vanderstelt
Aligned Orthodontics · Denver, CO
Starts with Strategy client
A 3D CBCT airway scan is part of every new-patient visit, and she coordinates jaw surgery for sleep apnea with an oral surgeon. She was a mouth-breathing kid herself.
Dr. Jeremiah Sturgill
Sturgill Orthodontics · Johnson City, TN
Starts with Strategy client
Board-certified, and he teaches in VCU’s orthodontic residency. He measures airway volume with 3D imaging and treats mild to moderate sleep apnea with oral appliances.
Dr. Allison Hamada
Hamada Orthodontics · Metairie, LA
Starts with Strategy client
Airway is the reason her practice exists. It started when her own daughter struggled with restless sleep. She works hand in hand with local myofunctional therapists and ENTs.
Dr. Julia Giardina
Giardina Orthodontics · Harrisonburg, VA
Starts with Strategy client
Her residency research was on screening kids for sleep apnea. Board-certified, she works with pediatricians, ENTs and sleep specialists across the Shenandoah Valley.
Dr. Jonathan Murray
Murray Orthodontics · Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Starts with Strategy client
Every new child patient fills out a pediatric sleep questionnaire, and he checks the tonsils and airway space on X-ray. About half of his patients are adults.
Dr. Stephen Haverkos
Haverkos Family Orthodontics · Cincinnati, OH
Starts with Strategy client
He’s straight with parents: braces don’t cure sleep apnea. When snoring is a tonsil problem he sends kids to an ENT first, and uses an expander only when the jaw is truly narrow.
Dr. Robert Ogden
Ogden Orthodontics · Windermere, FL
Starts with Strategy client
More than 20,000 cases since 1994. His no-key expander is 3D printed from a scan, and he works with your physician before any adult sleep appliance.
Dr. Andrew Welling
Bailey-Welling Orthodontics · Bountiful, UT
Starts with Strategy client
A 3D CBCT scan is part of every free consultation, and his team sorts out when snoring needs an orthodontist, an ENT, or both.
7:02 a.m.
Quiet nights.
Easy mornings.
Breathing through the nose. Sleeping through the night. Waking up ready for the day. That's what the right airway orthodontist is working toward, for your kid or for you. Find my doctor
Read this before your first visit.
Written by the doctors in this guide, on their own sites.
Palate expanders: who needs one, and who doesn't
Sturgill Orthodontics · Johnson City, TNRead on their site ↗
Mouth breathing in kids: when to get it checked
Murray Orthodontics · Palm Beach Gardens, FLRead on their site ↗
Jaw surgery for sleep apnea: how it actually works
Aligned Orthodontics · Denver, CORead on their site ↗
Sleep apnea in kids: what a real screening looks like
Dr. Julia Giardina · Harrisonburg, VARead on their site ↗
Tongue-ties and lip-ties: what parents should know
RPDO · Richmond, VARead on their site ↗
Adult snoring: what an airway orthodontist can do
Hamada Orthodontics · Metairie, LARead on their site ↗
Airway orthodontics: an honest guide for parents
Haverkos Family Orthodontics · Cincinnati, OHRead on their site ↗
Snoring: call an orthodontist or an ENT first?
Bailey-Welling Orthodontics · Bountiful, UTRead on their site ↗
An expander with no keys to turn at home
Ogden Orthodontics · Windermere, FLRead on their site ↗
Quiet nights start with the right doctor.
Tell us what you're noticing at night. We'll match you with an airway orthodontist near you who passed our review, and send your request straight to their office.
Free for families. Every doctor passes the same review.