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ALF Therapy

ALF TherapyALF TherapyALF Therapy
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  • InterFACE
  • WHAT...
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  • WHO....
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  • WHERE are the providers?
  • FAQ
  • ALF Certified Labs
  • ALF NLA Appliance
  • Appliance Design Options

WHy compromise when you can optimize?

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What is ALF Therapy?

The Advanced Light Force also know as the Advanced Lightwire Functional (ALF) dental appliance was developed by a dentist who asked a simple yet profound question:  


Why do some orthodontic techniques create a synergy with the body and others create obstacles to health and function?   


Dr. Darick Nordstrom developed the ALF appliance with the goal of improving the overall health, beauty and function for the patient while providing a gentle, simple, effective and easy to wear family of dental appliances.  

Why is the ALF so unique?

Utilizing principles of growth and development

The ALF appliance uses light forces to the teeth and gums delivered by an exceptionally advanced design.  The ALF design is based on replicating the forces to the jaws and head that nature intended.  This has been verified through years of feedback from osteopathic and chiropractic physicians who specialize in treating the highly sensitive system involving the subtle forces and influences involving the cranium and the neurological system that it surrounds.  


The evolution of the family of ALF appliances has been continually refined throughout the years to their current elegant and effective designs developed by Dr. Darick Nordstrom.


As no two patients are the same - no two appliances are the same.  ALF InterFACE providers are trained to select and modify the ALF dental appliances to the individual needs of their patients to take advantage of their strengths and help them overcome their weaknesses. 

Comfort, functional and cosmetic advantages

The ALF is barely visible to observers, easy to wear and more hygienic to maintain than most other dental and orthodontic appliances.


The ALF is one of very few dental appliances that provide adequate room for the tongue and is unique in its ability to encourge improved tongue function.


The tongue is nature's best orthodontist and retainer.  Without the development of an ideal swallow. adequate nasal breathing and balanced cranial function, we often see crowded teeth as well as crooked faces, necks and bodies.  Nature intended for the tongue to continually support the roof of the mouth.  However, if a child does not develop a mature swallow as a result of challenges in growth and development, they often struggle with optimal facial and neurological development.


The ALF provides an environment of gentle, functionally balanced support to the delicately interlocked bones of the head by providing a "fake it until you make it" opportunity for tongue and breathing function by enhancing the patient's functional reflexive abilities.  By providing an ideal opportunity for the patient to develop a fully functional swallow while creating more room in the mouth for the crowded tongue, the breath and swallow can better support the body's delicate neurological system and craniofacial development.   


The use of the ALF is known for creating an environment of enhanced neurological function and a more balanced facial appearance by harnessing the power of one of nature's most powerful tools: the human tongue.

Video Testimonial

Check out this great parent testimonial on the benefits of ALF Therapy.

Focus on Function

Supports the natural rhythms, frequencies and fluid flow in the body.

Diagnosis before decision

ALF Therapy is unique in its ability to provide optimal tongue space while encouraging optimal tongue function

Diagnosis before decision

Supports the natural rhythms, frequencies and fluid flow in the body.

Diagnosis before decision

By taking advantage of the advances in technology, we can now increase our level of patient care by assessing function as well as structure.

Supports the natural rhythms, frequencies and fluid flow in the body.

Supports the natural rhythms, frequencies and fluid flow in the body.

Supports the natural rhythms, frequencies and fluid flow in the body.

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WHat is ALF?

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Why ALF?

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Who can benefit from ALF Therapy?

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WHen should ALF Therapy be provided?

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Where are the providers with the most current and authentic training in ALF Therapy?

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ALF Provider certification

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Site Content

ALF FAQ

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ALF Family of Appliances

*Please note that the Quantum ALF is not a design supported by Dr. Nordstrom and the ALF InterFACE Academy

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ALF NLA APpliance

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ALF Certified Laboratories

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ALF Concepts and WHolistic Orthodontics

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ALF Therapy compared to Orthodontic techniques

Distinctively different

Even though properly performed ALF Therapy creates beautiful smiles and faces by utilizing the oral environment (including the teeth), it must be understood that this dental technique is very different from orthodontic approaches.


Patients seeking a treatment approach that is limited to the movement of teeth often seek the advice from a dentist who has taken very specialized training in tooth alignment referred to as an orthodontist.  Orthodontists undertake a 2 year post doctoral program that instructs on an approach limited to tooth alignment using braces, clear aligners, surgical interventions and rigid, fixed palatal expanders.  

Their instruction does not include instruction on the use of the ALF family of appliances as this instruction is only available through private instruction in the multifactorial aspect of care offered through ALF Therapy.


Patients seeking a treatment approach to prevent or treat functional issues such as:

  • sleep and airway concerns
  • headaches and craniofacial pain
  • speech and swallowing concerns
  • relapse or unwanted tooth movement as a consequence of unresolved oral neuromyofunctional deficits

...may want to consider ALF Therapy as another option to the more tooth-focused therapy provided by other forms of orthodontics.


Properly trained ALF Therapists evaluate and address the patient's neurological and developmental concerns that created the need for orthodontic intervention including aspects of health and function such as:

  • the effects of a less than optimal swallowing pattern
  • the impact of unresolved neck, cranial and body strains/imbalances 
  • less than optimal skeletal growth patterns directly influenced by neurological influences on the tongue
  • retained primitive reflexes
  • early childhood trauma and adverse childhood events
  • metabolic and nutritional concerns
  • sleep disorders including the trigeminal cardiac reflex

Video explaining ALF Therapy Principles and Concepts

Video

Check out this video explaiing the past, present, future and principles behind ALF Therapy

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