Opinions on These Two Orthodontists in the Area.....

I do not know anything about the actual orthodontic talents of any of these, but I would steer clear of Kawa. It is possible (hopeful) that he has matured since the incident my children and I endured in his office many years ago. But it was so inappropriate and reprehensible and insensitive that I have been steering people away from him ever since. I took my two older daughters (now 18 & 15) when they were pre-teens for a consultation. Based on x-rays and his exam, he announced LOUDLY to my older daughter, in front of her younger sisters and I, that she would be lucky if she ever reached 5 feet tall. She was completely traumatized. I informed him that we had come for a consultation about her teeth and he was way out of line and we left and never returned.
From the time my girls were born, I had informed EVERY pediatrician we ever met, that I was not interested in height and weight charts and not to ever tell me where my children fell in the "averages." This information is insidious and unnecessary! It never occurred to me that I had to warn an orthodontist not to tell me things that had nothing to do with teeth!
It has come to pass that my eldest, though slightly over 5', is the shortest in our family. Fortunately, she is very secure and happy, VP of her freshman class at University, getting great grades and has a lovely boyfriend and lots of fabulous friends. But during those self-conscious, miserable middle school years, I can not tell you how many times that stupid man's words made her cry! Thank goddess, and no thanks to Kawa, by the time her 3 years younger sister exceeded her in height she had achieved happiness in her own skin.

The best thing to do is pick two or three and see them for consults and make a decision. A friend of mine whom I trust did this and chose Dr. Wohlgemuth in Boca. Based on her decision, I had my 9 yr old do the initial consultation, which was complimentary. We were impressed by the details, office staff, and Dr. W. so we chose to use him. His office is set up so that they can work on 6-8 patients at a time. Overseen by Dr. W, techs do most of the work and Dr. W always checks everything. This is the way most offices are these days. However, I am very happy with my daughters progress and so is my friend with her daughters. I also now know others who are using Dr. W.

I recv'd a card in the mail from Dr. Shelling because he is in the ped dentist office we use. It sounds like he is new.
But it might mean more personalized attention since he is just starting out and trying to gain a patient base. It might be worth a look.

I have heard that the wait in Dr. Kawa can be very long.

You may want to check Dr. Morroco, she is a female orthodontist in Delray and I know a few people who love her. She would be closer for you.

Good luck!

C.,

I would highly recommend Dr. Doymeyer who has an office in Boynton Beach. My son was 14 and needing braces because his upper jaw did not grow even with his lower jaw. I went for consults with two other ortho's who wanted to send him to surgery to cut and split his palate. I did not want to do this and Dr Doymeyer was recommended to me by several moms on his baseball team. Dr. D did an xray of his growth plates in his elbows and determined that he was still growing and thought he could enlarge his palate with expanders. I went with Dr D and never regretted it. He was able to expand the palate without surgery and my son has a perfect smile. They accepted our insurance and let us make payments over 2 years for what was not covered. Andy is now 21 and returned home for a 2 week leave from the middle east recently. The first person he went to see was Dr. D. After a big hug he grabbed my son's chin and said "let me have a look at your teeth son". We were all laughing. I would not want anyone else working on my kids teeth.
Best of luck to you and your 8 year old.
C.

do NOT go to Dr Kawa!!! I will probably lose all my bottom teeth due to MAJOR gum recession thanks to his handy work. He put braces on my bottom teeth several times and he didn't pay proper attention and the wiring was wrong, popped out and twisting my teeth the wrong way. I have already had 4 grafting surgeries to try and stop my recession. My periodontist said that what Dr Kawa did was criminal and I should take him to court to sue.