The Approach
Dentistry that asks why.
Most dental care focuses on what is visible — the tooth, the joint, the symptom. This practice starts somewhere different: with the structures and patterns that shape how everything works together.
A different kind of question
Conventional dentistry is largely repair-based. A tooth breaks, it gets fixed. A joint hurts, it gets treated. The work is real and often necessary — but it doesn't always address what led to the problem in the first place.
Developmental and adaptive dentistry asks a different question: what is the body trying to do, and why isn't it working? It looks at the relationship between the teeth, the jaw, the airway, the muscles, and the nervous system — not as separate parts, but as an integrated whole.
This approach doesn't replace conventional care. It adds a layer of understanding that makes treatment more precise, more durable, and more connected to the patient's actual experience.
What this practice works with
TMJ & Facial Pain
Jaw pain, clicking, locking, and facial tension that hasn't resolved — or that keeps coming back. Often connected to bite, muscle patterns, and structural load.
Bite & Occlusion
Teeth that don't meet comfortably, wear patterns that don't make sense, or a bite that has shifted over time. The way teeth come together affects far more than the teeth themselves.
Airway & Breathing
Mouth breathing, sleep disruption, snoring, and the structural factors — tongue posture, palate development, jaw position — that shape how well air moves.
Craniofacial Development
The way the face, jaw, and palate develop has lifelong consequences for breathing, posture, and function. Early patterns matter, and some can be addressed even in adulthood.
Tongue Function
Tongue tie, low tongue posture, and swallowing patterns that place ongoing force on the teeth and jaw. Often overlooked, and often central to why other treatments haven't held.
Complex or Unresolved Concerns
Patients who have seen multiple providers, received conflicting information, or been told their symptoms are untreatable. This practice takes those histories seriously.
Advanced Lightwire Functional
ALF Therapy
ALF Therapy is a gentle, osteopathically-informed approach to craniofacial development and oral function. Unlike conventional orthodontic appliances, the ALF works with the body's natural forces — breathing, swallowing, tongue posture — rather than against them.
The appliance is light, flexible, and designed to support the nervous system as much as the structure. It is often used alongside bodywork, myofunctional therapy, and other collaborative care.
Dr. Areias continues to train directly with Dr. Darick Nordstrom, the creator of the ALF appliance, and continues to deepen her understanding of this work through ongoing mentorship and study.
What to expect
A thorough first conversation
Before any examination or treatment, we take time to understand your history — what you've experienced, what you've tried, and what matters most to you. Nothing is dismissed.
Comprehensive evaluation
A full assessment of your bite, jaw, airway, and muscle function. We look at how everything relates, not just the area that hurts.
A clear picture, not a sales pitch
You'll leave with a genuine understanding of what we found and what options exist. There's no pressure to begin treatment — only an honest conversation about what might help.
Collaborative, coordinated care
When appropriate, we work alongside other providers — osteopaths, myofunctional therapists, sleep specialists, physical therapists — to support the whole picture.
Who this is for
This practice is a good fit for patients who want to understand what's happening — not just receive a diagnosis and a treatment plan. For patients who have complex histories, unresolved symptoms, or concerns that don't fit neatly into a conventional framework. For patients who are willing to be active participants in their own care.
It is also a good fit for patients who have felt dismissed. Whose symptoms were minimized, whose questions went unanswered, or who were told to simply live with it. That experience is taken seriously here.
This is a private practice with a limited patient load. That's intentional — it allows for the kind of attention and continuity that this work requires.
Start with a conversation.
If any of this resonates, reach out. There's no commitment involved — just an honest exchange about whether this practice might be the right fit for what you're dealing with.
Request a visit