Amalia Geller, MD

I am a board-certified Pediatric Neurologist with subspecialty board certification in Sleep Medicine and additional post graduate fellowship training in Epilepsy and neurophysiology. My post graduate training in Child Neurology was at the University of California at San Diego. Neurophysiology and Epilepsy fellowships were performed at University of California at Irvine and I completed a Sleep Medicine fellowship at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas.As a Child Neurologist with academic and private practice experience, I observed the impact of sleep disordered breathing on child development. In particular, I saw how imperative it was to manage sleep difficulties in children with Epilepsy because chronic sleep deprivation leads to a lowered seizure threshold. I also observed that children with behavioral problems and academic issues (ADD etc.) were more prone to breathing disordered sleep.I am primarily focused on children with developmental and neurological conditions such as autism, epilepsy, ADD and other genetic disorders. These children in particular have an increased risk or are prone to cranial facial malocclusion based on genetic and epigenetic factors. Because this involves a more complete approach to pediatric sleep medicine, I have included collaboration with Sleep Dentists. It is not enough to refer a child for a tonsillectomy and a sleep study. We must look at the child's overall development, malocclusion and craniofacial abnormalities to formulate a treatment plan. Newer, cutting-edge technologies are utilizing stem cell stimulation to grow bone and develop appropriate facial structures and correct malocclusions. This is what makes my approach to pediatric sleep unique.I include on my team the pediatric sleep dentist, the oral myofascial therapist and orthodontists. My vision is to develop a comprehensive pediatric sleep program that is designed to treat the child's underlying malocclusion as the root cause of their breathing disordered sleep. A comprehensive holistic integrative approach is what is imperative to treat children as a whole in order for them to achieve their maximum potential.

In the Media

Epigenetics and Sleep Disordered Breathing – Dental Sleep Product Magazine