Why see an LVI dentist for non-surgical jaw development?

LVI Fellow Dr. Randi Green at the Las Vegas Institute, for Advanced Dental Studies on a Spring day before advanced training begins.
LVI Fellow Dr. Randi Green at the Las Vegas Institute, for Advanced Dental Studies on a Spring day before advanced training begins.

The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies is the world's most advanced post-doctorate education center.

Here, Dr. Randi Green and her dental professional colleagues learn the latest techniques through hands-on training and curriculum including physiologic orthodontics.

LVI is a science-based training facility supported by measuring results and raving patient success stories from thousands of doctors across the globe. An elite LVIF doctor, such as Dr. Randi Green in Springfield, MO is highly trained to be a complete whole health "mouth doctor.”  

Dental schools only teach students to look at their patient’s teeth. Dr. Green has devoted her life to building on this basic foundation of knowledge with many hundreds of hours of continuing education and innovative training beyond teeth. In that spirit, she brings this advanced knowledge about whole health dentistry, including physiologic orthodontics, to help her patients achieve the best quality health care available.

Dr. Randi Green, physiologic dentist in Springfield, MO
Dr. Randi Green, physiologic dentist in Springfield, MO

Why choose Dr. Randi Green to manage your bite and straighten your teeth?

Any dentist or orthodontist can straighten your teeth; it’s not that hard. Now, you can even purchase a direct-to-consumer clear aligner straightening kit with do-it-yourself-orthodontics bypassing the need to see a qualified professional for your straight teeth.

It’s your health, you get to make the decisions about what is best for you.Have you ever wondered why your teeth aren’t straight in the first place?

Crooked teeth are a result of inadequate jaw development

Inadequate jaw development usually stems from deeper issues such as improper tongue posture, mouth breathing, and improper lip seal during growth and development.

Just straightening your teeth can yield really good aesthetic results at the tooth level, but for some, can compromise facial appearance, the way you breathe, and even possibly affect your spinal posture.

An LVI physiologic dentist like Dr. Green can improve lip seal, proper tongue posture, and help you re-establish nasal breathing to improve your quality of life AND straighten your teeth.

See my blog about “Why do I have a bad bite?”  For more insight about why we have so many dental problems.

Physiologic dentistry evolved out of neuromuscular dentistry. Dr. Green looks at what causes TMJ disease in her patients. A physiologic dentist takes a whole-health approach from top to bottom to get the body as a system to be as healthy and balanced as it can.

The LVI doctor is trained to see the entire stomatognathic system.

  • She will examine the health of your jaw bone and tooth support system.
  • She will help you determine options for posture correction, correction for jaw development issues, and restoration of healthy breathing.
  • She takes scientific measurements to assess your TMJ health.
  • She will assess and measure your posture and how it might be affecting your TMJ health and overall health.
  • She will screen for sleep disorders, airway obstruction and obstructive sleep apnea with a take-home sleep study.
  • She will assess for dental disease and provide options to restore optimal tooth and gum health

It is these vital connections near the oral cavity which help her to diagnose, prevent, treat and initiate correction of any maldevelopment before she even straightens your teeth!

We like to say at Springfield Smile Doctor; "Your teeth are along for the ride!”


Dr. Green's advanced training uses non-surgical physiologic rehabilitation to help her patients find their ideal physiologic biting position.


Straight teeth look good

Most dentists and orthodontists focus on the teeth and making them look straight without assessing how the way your teeth bite together can affect your physiology.

Traditional orthodontics relies on extracting and retracting teeth to make room, sometimes pushing the lower jaw too far back. This retracted position can negatively disrupt the relationship between the teeth, muscles, and jaw joints.

Less space is available for the tongue, which can push it into the airway space and potentially lead to or worsen obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  

This can also cause the patient to adapt to a forward head posture (FHP) to open the airway. Forward head posture is linked to all symptoms like neck pain, back pain, digestive issues, vertigo, and swallowing, just to name a few.

Fact: Over 50% (half) of Dr. Green’s orthodontic patients have gone through one or multiple rounds of previous traditional retraction orthodontics such as braces or clear aligners before this treatment.

This video explains how a child's face needs to grow forward in order for her to have a fully grown airway. Certain types of orthodontic treatment stunt the growth of children's faces, and as a result, these children end up with disrupted breathing and sleep apnea for the rest of their lives.

Watch this video, The Story of Headgearto see why extraction and retraction are not the optimal path to healthy, straight teeth.

What makes physiologic orthodontics a better solution?

An LVI dentist like Dr. Green will examine your posture, tongue position, and airway in conjunction with your teeth and the way they bite together. Remember, our mouths are the front of the airway.

We as a society have come to accept many of these abnormal compromises in the airway including small jaws, mouth breathing, and improper tongue posture.

It is these risk factors that are working against our very own health. Science shows us that non-surgical physiologic treatment can be successful in treating so many of these pathological issues sometimes hiding in plain sight.

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