Special Needs Children

Dr. Buck and his wife Theresa have raised six children, their youngest daughter Ruth has Achondroplasia (dwarfism). Dr. Buck recognized early on that Ruth would need special orthopedic/orthodontic consideration because one of the problems with achondroplasia is significant mid face underdevelopment. By using face forward growth strategies much of the skeletal deficiency has been overcome. Achondroplastic patients who have mid face underdevelopment are at greatly increased risk for sleep breathing disorders and mouth breathing, along with increased negative changes to the cervical spine from forward head posture as a result of a narrow airway. If you have a child with dwarfism, please consider a consultation with Dr. Buck to explore how his methods of facial orthopedics can help.

The left side is Dr. Buck’s daughter Ruth at age 13 after face forward epigenetic growth treatments. The right side is a typical appearance of adult achondroplastic facial form. Note the severe depressed cheek bones which magnifies the prominence of the forehead and flattens the bridge of the nose. The severe underdeveloped upper jaw significantly pushes the tongue back into the throat greatly complicating breathing. You can see how much more the entire mid face is developed in Ruth.