Airway-Focused Craniofacial Orthodontics in Boca Raton, FL
Board-certified orthodontic care rooted in craniofacial medicine, not just straight teeth. Dr. Jennifer Statler treats the whole airway, from a child's first growth check to advanced surgical correction in adults.
Airway orthodontics looks past the smile to the structure behind it. Dr. Statler's approach is shaped by her background in craniofacial medicine, including her time on the craniofacial team at Montefiore Medical Center, where she treated patients with complex jaw, airway, and facial growth concerns. That training informs every airway case she sees today, from early intervention in growing children to advanced surgical correction in adults.
- Craniofacial-Trained - Background in craniofacial medicine and jaw development
- Growth-Focused Care for Kids - Early intervention while the jaw can still be guided
- Advanced Adult Solutions - Surgical and non-surgical correction for fully developed jaws
What Is Airway Orthodontics?
Airway orthodontics treats the underlying skeletal and muscular causes of breathing difficulty, sleep-disordered breathing, and improper jaw growth, rather than only addressing the alignment of teeth.
By expanding the upper jaw, guiding lower jaw growth, and retraining the muscles of the face and mouth, airway-focused treatment creates more room for the airway to function properly, whether that means easier breathing during the day or deeper, uninterrupted sleep at night.
- Better Breathing — Open the nasal passages and reduce obstruction by expanding the upper and lower jaw
- Improved Sleep Quality — Address the root causes of snoring, mouth breathing, and long-term health
- Comprehensive Overall Health — Proper airway function supports energy levels, concentration, mood, and even cardiovascular health
Craniofacial Training Behind Every Treatment Plan
Dr. Statler's approach to airway orthodontics is grounded in more than orthodontic technique. Her background includes work on the craniofacial team at Montefiore Medical Center, where she was part of a multidisciplinary group treating patients with complex facial, jaw, and airway abnormalities.
That experience gives her a deeper understanding of how the jaw, airway, and facial structures develop and interact, knowledge she applies to every airway case at Statler Orthodontics, from a child's first growth evaluation to complex adult surgical planning.
- Multidisciplinary training - Experience coordinating care alongside surgeons, sleep specialists, and craniofacial teams
- Structural diagnosis - Evaluating jaw growth patterns and airway anatomy, not only tooth position
- Whole-patient treatment planning - Designing appliances and treatment sequences around how the airway and face actually grow
Early Treatment, Lasting Results: Airway Care for Children
Children's jaws are still growing, which means early intervention can make a profound difference. Dr. Statler identifies airway concerns as early as ages 5 to 7 and creates personalized plans to guide healthy development before problems become permanent.
Growth Modification
Children's jaws are still narrow at this stage, which is exactly the window to widen the upper arch and open nasal airflow before permanent teeth arrive.
- Palatal Expanders - Widen the upper arch to improve nasal airflow and create room for permanent teeth
- Functional Appliances - Guide lower jaw development and balance the bite
- Face Masks / Reverse Pull Headgear - Encourage forward upper jaw growth in underbite cases
- Herbst Appliances - Advance the lower jaw to improve both bite and airway volume
Myofunctional Therapy
Appliances move teeth and jaws, but myofunctional therapy retrains the muscles behind the problem. If a child breathes through their mouth, muscles are often working against healthy development.
We recommend myofunctional therapy when children show signs of:
- Mouth breathing or open-mouth posture
- Tongue thrust or low tongue resting posture
- Snoring or restless sleep
- Speech articulation issues
- Forward head posture or narrow palate
Guided exercises retrain the tongue, lips, cheeks, and face, reinforcing the results of orthodontic treatment and supporting long-term stability. Programs typically run 3 to 9 months.
Meet Dr. Jennifer Statler, Orthodontist
Dr. Jennifer Statler is a South Florida native, highly educated and well trained. She attended Boston University, where she earned her undergraduate degree, then obtained her dental education from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 1999. She served as head officer of a 50-person dental department and served in the United States Navy before leaving the service.
Her craniofacial expertise deepened through her work on the craniofacial team at Montefiore Medical Center, where she treated complex jaw, facial, and airway cases as part of a multidisciplinary team. She then completed a three-year residency to earn her orthodontic specialty certification in 2008.
That combination, military discipline, craniofacial specialty training, and two decades of orthodontic practice, is what shapes her airway treatment philosophy today: treat the structure, not just the smile.
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