From a young age, Kentucky native Dr. Amanda Vanderstelt had an artistic side and a keen eye for detail (impressively, she taught herself to French braid at just six years old). Amanda envisioned herself becoming a plastic surgeon, but when she realized she didn’t love working in a chaotic hospital environment, she pivoted and applied to dental school. A chance encounter with renowned Louisville, Kentucky orthodontist Dr. Douglas Knight sparked her interest in the vocation. When it came time to apply for an externship, Amanda looked him up.
“I spent the summer learning from him,” she says. “He did high-end orthodontics, complex cases. I traveled across the country for different lectures with the most high-caliber practitioners in the world. The interesting thing about orthodontics in parallel to plastic surgery is that we change the face, and there’s also an aesthetic component to a smile that goes beyond teeth. It’s jaw structure. I knew in my heart and soul that this is what I was going to do.”
After relocating to Denver, Amanda worked several orthodontic jobs for a decade, honing her expertise with Invisalign and high-quality orthodontic care. Gradually, the landscape of the local dental industry shifted into corporations buying and running smaller offices—often at the expense of offering superior care. This led Amanda to open her own private practice, aligned. Functional + Cosmetic Orthodontics (www.alignedonpearl.com), this past fall in Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood.
Her traditional services include teeth whitening, lingual braces, Invisalign and orthodontics in combination with jaw surgery and airway health improvement, yet Amanda offers a unique approach to orthodontics that others in her field do not. Holistically, she looks at the entire body from an interdisciplinary perspective, examining the jaw, airway and tongue, to determine the root cause of why a patient is experiencing certain oral or airway health problems that often include serious disorders like sleep apnea and sleep-disordered breathing.
“We live in a progressive city, but still, I find most pediatricians and Ear, Nose and Throat doctors (ENTs) to be in the mindset of treating symptoms of tonsils and adenoids only when they’re causing strep throat repeatedly, rather than looking at the entire structure of the airway: tonsils, adenoids, the nasal passageway, the tongue and jaw structure,” Amanda says. “We need to intervene before the problems are irreversible or widespread in the body.”
Recently, Amanda cared for a patient in his 50s who wanted to correct his deep bite. During an initial exam, she noticed his small airway and wondered if he suffered from sleep apnea, which he did—but no doctor had properly diagnosed him, and he wasn’t aware of how serious his condition was. Double jaw surgery corrected his sleep apnea as well as his bite. A five-year-old with sleeping troubles who had seen an ENT to no avail also came to Amanda, who discovered that his adenoids were completely blocking his nasal passageway.
“I sent the results to the ENT to show that this was classic sleep disorder breathing,” Amanda says. “They just figured the child’s tonsils weren’t that big, so they didn’t scope the adenoids. When they did take them out, this kid was a completely different person. He was excited to wake up in the morning, and he stopped struggling to focus at school.”
When functionally treated, children can significantly improve their quality of life for years to come. Even adults, though older, can correct and manage their long-term problems when given effective and efficient treatment. In addition to a functional approach to orthodontics, Amanda also offers a warm, spa-like ambiance within her practice. Patients can use Beats by Dre headphones, watch Netflix on TVs above the chairs, dab essential oils on a warm bamboo cloth and get cozy under weighted blankets. Her Australian Labradoodle, Benny, also makes adults and children alike feel more comfortable. Think luxury wellness clinic rather than dental office.
Amanda’s dedication to her craft and to creating a high-quality experience is especially evident when she speaks about her passion for giving back to the Denver community (Pearl Street Farmers Market, toy drives, elementary school fundraisers), her dream for the future and the inspiration behind the name of her business.
“I’m a connector, and I make things happen,” she shares. “I want to connect like-minded practitioners who deal with airway issues so that we can be cohesive with how we manage the way these issues impact our body’s health. ‘Aligned’ is such a powerful name for me because it’s the way I practice and the values I stand for. Your life will blossom when your vision, your values, your actions and your people are aligned.”