Extremely disappointing experience. The office is always behind schedule -- even after driving over an hour, I still end up waiting a long time past my appointment. I've had to return multiple times for adjustments and skin tests, and now my child's skin is peeling. When I called for an urgent appointment, they had no availability. For the amount of money we're spending, there should be far more care, urgency, and organization. It's frustrating to feel like there's no priority placed on your child's well-being. At this point, I'm seriously questioning whether this whole helmet process is necessary or just a money grab. read more

My baby just graduated two days ago after 13 weeks in a helmet and the transformation is honestly amazing! He was diagnosed with modeste to severe plagiocephaly and our pediatrician recommended CT. The Pasadena location is closest to where we live and from the first consultation to our last visit the clinicians were lovely to work with. Everyone was very patient and sweet with my baby and so professional. Divia (sp) was our clinician and she was the best! I had been worried about how the helmet would impact my babies sleep and his comfort on his back but he got used to it pretty quick. I think was I appreciated the most is that she would always meet us where we were at in terms of comfort. At the beginning we weren't putting the helmet on for the recommended 23 hours a day and she wouldn't judge or scold us and instead would help answer all our questions and concerns and shared how normal it was to need to ramp up to the 23 hour mark. She also was clear on the timeline and we came in every two weeks for checkups and would get positive feedback on the results which was encouraging. All in we really enjoyed our experience with CT Pasadena and would recommend them to anyone! read more

My baby graduated today!! I took him in at 5 months old and he finished his treatment at 8 months old. When i found out my baby was going to need a helmet i was mixed with emotions, i thought it was my fault. That i wasnt doing enough tummy time or repositioning. But at Cranial Technologies i was reassure that these things can happen even with doing everything right. Sometimes the positioning of baby in the womb can effect the head shape of baby. I am happy with the results the team at Cranial Technologies was super nice and helpful. Thank you!!! read more

Cranial Technologies - Medical Centers Near Me - Pasadena, California

I have to update my review. After my authorization was sent everything went smoothly. Staff was so nice i loved everything

My baby had Torticollis and kept favoring one side while sleeping so she developed a slight flattening on one side. She was just under 6 months when we had our first consultation. Cranial Tech said her case was "severe" based on the numbers. Her Cranial Vault Asymmetry was 9.0 mm. Our insurance approved the DocBand, with $1k out of pocket, which was kindda steep, but we moved forward. Baby had red marks on her forehead and head initially and I was skeptical about the treatment - for a moment I felt like I got caught up with their "sales pitch"... and didn't really want to have her in the DocBand 23 hours a day. We almost quit the DocBand a week or so in. But then we realized we should stick to it since we'll only have one chance to really correct her head shape while she's so young. Decided to "embrace" the DocBand, got bows and Velcro and a sticker from Amazon to accessorize it and had her wear it for about 22 hours a day for just under 6 weeks before she "graduated" and didn't need to wear it anymore! We did take it off in the morning to wipe her head and clean the helmet in addition to the 1-hr break later in the day. With the weekly adjustments, the redness was not so apparent anymore and she would occasional get a slight pinkness in certain areas. They actually added moleskin to one of the areas on her forehead that used to get really red - that really helped! In hindsight we're so glad we stuck to it. The "after" image is really telling - and her Cranial Vault Asymmetry went from 9mm to 4mm! read more

Cranial Technologies - DocBand graduate - Medical Centers Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Today was Graduation day!!! I couldn't be anymore happy with the results and service! From the first day we went for consultation all our questions were asked. As I'm sure other parents we were super nervous and didn't know what to expect but they made us feel super comfortable and let us know we weren't alone. My daughter that's is 10 months old was diagnosed with Torticollis, therefore she needed the doc band and physical therapy. She did one band which was 4 months. She completed physical therapy and now Doc band. Thank you to all the nurses and doctor were are truly happy with the results definitely recommend. read more

At my son's four month appt with his pediatrician, she noted some flattening and recommended we get a helmet consult. We went to CT, and they said he was in the moderate-severe range for plagiocephaly and scaphocephaly. They told us he would need two helmets and that it would take about six months to correct. They said he would have dental problems, he wouldn't be able to wear sports helmets, glasses wouldn't fit him right. They said he'd have permanent issues unless we helmeted. They used such strong scare tactics that I went and got a second opinion from one of UCLA's pediatric craniofacial doctors (they are here in LA, but on the west side). She said our son looked moderate and recommended repositioning and physical therapy. After a few months, I had his head rescanned. The helmet salesperson at CT said we made it worse and then reiterated their scary sales pitch. They'll claim that the only way to correct a misshapen head is with their helmet but research shows that babies untreated and babies helmeted have the EXACT SAME OUTCOME by two years old. They take credit for something nature does all on its own. Please take a look at the two scans CT did. I laid them on top of one another to see what changes repositioning and physical therapy had on his head shape. Cranial Tech is unethical for telling us we made our baby's head worse. GET A SECOND OPINION!!! read more

Cranial Technologies - This image is his scans laid on top of each other. The helmet salesperson was a liar. We did not make things worse. GET A SECOND OPINION!!! - Medical Centers Near Me - Pasadena, California

Really wanted to love this place as we heard nothing but great things but they just could never really get it right. The first helmet they provided us was way too big and shifted all over the place. My baby didn't seem to mind it and slept in it just fine. After weeks of me asking "are you sure that it fits correctly?" and them reassuring me that it did, they said "oh wow this isn't fitting right, we have to make a new helmet!". That helmet was way too small and my baby would scream in it. It would leave red marks and I knew something wasn't right. During the period of time we were waiting for our second helmet to be made-I went to get a second opinion and was super bummed to find out the measurements had actually gotten worse. I don't know how much the numbers actually matter though because- during the time our baby wasn't wearing the docband while waiting for the second one, the head shape appeared to improve despite the numbers. I really wonder if we'd just left it alone if it would have continued to round out on its own. We decided to throw in the towel and helmet with a different provider. After $2k+ we were super bummed but wanted the best for our child. One thing that always rubbed me the wrong way was that they had an answer for everything. Even when it didn't make sense. I wish I could think of a specific time, but it just felt so car salesman. Another thing is that they just blindly cut at the foam on the helmet. They don't use imaging or anything at the checkups, they just do a little measuring with a measuring tape, look at the baby's head and hack at the super expensive piece of foam. The initial appointment they convinced us that our baby had moderate to severe numbers and after a little research I came to find out the numbers were actually not as bad as they said. I think they have their own scale so more babies appear to need helmeting. It wasn't until after 2 months of our baby being in the docband that we were bordering on severe. Overall, the staff is super nice and they're very organized, and I know several babies that had great experiences with CT, we just weren't one of them. I just think the company itself needs to fine tune quite a bit of their practices so its clients aren't left feeling ripped off. read more

Overall not a good quality of service for cost. Always late getting into appoints in W LA location. Our child had issues with skin irritation and the whole they said this was common they had no one on staff who could help or provide advice or treatment, they send us pack to our own pediatrician and wouldn't give us help or the helmet u til resolved which just became a long and drawn out merrigo round read more

Highly recommend this team. They made it so easy for us to understand the process and took care of us during our visits. The staff is awesome and the location is always clean and Sanitized. Was hesitant at first because we were nervous about our baby having to wear a helmet but again, they held our hand and the weeks flew by. They accommodated us in every way possible to make our experience as pleasant as possible. Two wonderful people that need their own shout outs, Alejandra at the front desk was amazing! She set the tone for that office, her delightful personality really calmed your nerves while you waited. BIG thank you to Divya the clinician who was so wonderful with our baby boy. She was kind, gentle and very friendly with us. I highly recommend her as she made it so easy for us! This team really cares about your baby.. time flys by so quickly and our baby seem to not be bothered as much as we thought he would be. Thank you Cranial Team. read more

$4000 dollars!!!! Let me explain. The office is great, however their insistence team is terrible. I had an issue with my insurance and ended up getting missed quoted. I got the runaround and was stuck with thousands of dollars in bills. Worsted of all, was the coldness l experienced from their insurance manager. This whole experience made me wish l should have gone with another company. If you have to pay out of pocket, l would advise shopping around first because when an issue arises, they are not on your side. Also, just a general note, if your child need more than one band ( my child needed more than one) you have to pay for each band separately. It is not a onetime payment. This can potentially cost you more that $4000 dollars, because each band costs just over $2100 each. Their discounts is pathetic. read more

The folks in this office were so kind and helpful throughout the whole process. I took one of my twin daughters because she was born with brachycephaly. She started her treatment at around 5 months and the treatment lasted 8 weeks. We saw so much improvement! Jenna is an awesome therapist. read more

The only thing that was worth 5 stars was the vocabulary "Normocephalic" if I have to practice positive thinking, thank you for teaching me a good helpful word to add to my vocabulary. What would be even more Amazing is instead of tummy time or actually in addition to tummy time is how rotating sleep position to crate a Normocephalic head. My parenting class said the baby carriers that prevent flat heads also have safety concerns. So is there are classes about sleep positioning? read more

Cranial Technologies was the third party company our primary pediatric doctor referred us to to help with my twins misshaped heads. Our doctor was concerned about their flat heads and asymmetric face alignment. Appointment was easy to make. The staff were really friendly. They make your kids really comfortable. They did a scan of the kiddos heads, which requires them to wear a stocking like head wrap and a bunch of pictures. Their program generates a 3d image of your kids head and face afterwards and you discuss the results with them. I do not think the person explaining the results was an actual doctor, she was more of a scare you to death saleperson. After all the pictures and analysis of the results they said my kids heads were moderate to severe misshaped and would need helmets for 6-12 months. Luckily I had to get a referral from an actual cranial doctor for my HMO to cover part of the helmet. Our cranial doctor said their shapes were not that bad and adjustments made at home could fix the shape overtime. She did put in the referral for the helmets so we could see the price, $2500 each! We went with the doctors suggestions and luckily did not waste our money on the helmets. 5 months later, their heads are back on track and shaped fine. Remember that the people here are here to sell you their product. So the excellent service is to make you want to buy their stuff. I gave them a 1 star because I did not like the fact that their "insurance team" (basically a saleperson telemarketer) called me every other day to see if we made a decision on the helmet and kept trying to schedule us for the next step of the process. I told them we needed time to think and they would constantly call. It was getting pretty annoying at the end. They ended up leaving me a final voicemail saying your referral will expire and you will have to redo it again. In the end, Cranial Technologies and just a company trying to sell you a product that you probably do not need. If you there are issues with your infants head development, I would see a pediatric cranial doctor before you fall into this expensive trap! read more

Cranial Technologies - Inside Testing Room - Medical Centers Near Me - Pasadena, California

I am SO glad I sought a 2nd and 3rd opinion regarding our son's head / needing to get a helmet. Cranial Technologies said his flattening was moderate and made it seem urgent that we get him a helmet right away. I couldn't see the major concerns in the flashy presentation they gave and knew that all babies heads aren't perfect / evolve with their growth. Luckily, I trusted my gut and took him to the Hanger Clinic where they used the FDA approved STARscanner, which showed our son's head was totally normal. We then took him to a Cedars doctor who agreed and said he never understood Cranal Technologies reports and why the range of asymmetry measurements weren't wider. He greatly advised against getting a helmet, which was a huge relief. I don't doubt some babies need a helmet - but I strongly advise seeking a 2nd opinion if you are told this is the case. read more

Outstanding service and highly recommend to anyone considering it! My son just finished about 3 months of wearing the DOC band and we are very happy with the results. We had already started to see a noticeable difference about 6 weeks in. Special thanks to Divya who was our son's main provider for making the entire process smooth and stress-free. read more

So happy we went through Cranial Technologies and this location! Our son's head is drastically better after 16 weeks, it was so worth it. The staff and techs are all lovely and accommodating with schedule changes. Cannot recommend this office enough! read more

If I could I will give them 0 star, I had appointment in Pasadena location, when we arrive there, the door is closed since they changed to a new place but we didn't get any notice, the second time we had a early morning appointment, there is no other patient, then they told us the machine is broken, we either didn't get any notification. It's wasting time, we feel so disappointed. Cranial Technologies has many different locations, but please don't go to the one in Pasadena, especially you have to take baby!! read more

We had such a wonderful experience here. My baby's head was totally reshaped on a few months. It was great customer service, never any wait time and Jenna was an absolute pleasure. Can't recommend enough. read more

Firstly, this is NOT a medical clinic and these are not medical professionals. Rather, they are trying to sell you a helmet, and use scare tactics to do so. They essentially recommend the helmet to everyone who walks through their door, and fail to explain that the helmet is not a medical necessity and is purely for the purposes of aesthetics. The tech, or as I like to think of her, the sales agent Rachel purposely made it seem like our baby's minor head flatness was worse than it actually is. She even said that the report that is automatically generated after photos are taken will say his is a mild case, "but I'm saying it's moderate and recommending the helmet." Apparently, her personal opinion is more important than objective numbers. The said report was emailed to us AFTER the appointment, and none of the information on there was ever discussed during our appointment. Instead, she pretty much spent her time scaring us about how awful his head shape is, and that he needs a helmet asap. When I reviewed the report on my own, all of his measurements were in the green (normal) range. But no, according to Rachel he had a moderate case. What a joke. On top of that, their insurance team quoted me $1800 even with my PPO insurance. Ridiculous. The whole thing felt very scammy and "salesy," so I decided to get a second opinion elsewhere. We went to an actual medical office, and were told with certainty that our son did NOT need a helmet. The clinician discussed all his head measurements , explained what is expected vs abnormal, and when a helmet would be necessary. While there was slight flattening, it wasn't severe enough to recommend a helmet. She provided us with real information, and did not try to scare us into committing to a helmet like cranial technologies did. So Beware of this place. They will tell you your baby needs a helmet when they may not. Please do your baby a favor and get a second opinion at an actual medical office. read more

We had a very positive experience with Cranial Technologies. It was of course tough to see our precious baby in a helmet at first but the team at Cranial Technologies, especially Jenna, helped us through it. Everyone was very nice, but Jenna deserves a special shout out because she is honestly the best. Aside from her being super nice and caring, she would call to follow up with us on a regular basis to make sure everything was OK. Our sincere thanks to the Cranial Technologies team and especially Jenna!!! read more

My twins were barely four months old when my primary pediatrician recommended I see a 'craniologist' about their head shapes, particularly my daughter, who was born with a little squish on the side (but nothing really noticeable). I assumed I was going to a real doctor, which was my first mistake. BE AWARE THAT THESE ARE NOT MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS. But more on that later. Our actual appointment consisted of having several pictures taken of our children's heads and then meeting with a technician, who informed us that our children both had plagiocephaly, which I found odd as there wasn't any flat spot on my son's head, nor did their imagery show any. They informed us he would need a helmet for two to four months and our daughter would need TWO helmets up until she was a year old. The helmets were to be worn 23 hours a day and cost $4000 each without insurance. They would have to come to the office twice a week for fittings and adjustments. No word on what that would cost. I'm guessing a lot. I was already pretty confused because my pediatrician said we were going to have their muscular control checked out and given exercises to help them if needed, which by the technician's admission, they had no apparent muscle issues. When she saw that I was unsure about the helmets, she quickly informed me that my children, especially my daughter, would be deformed without them, that their heads would grow out instead of up, that their features would be misshapen and asymmetrical. At this point, my husband was visibly getting very annoyed. I said we were planning on moving soon and wondered what doctor would see our kids in Oregon. She said, "I don't know. We don't have a company there." That was a weird red flag, My husband did research online and discovered that there was no conclusive medical evidence the helmets actually do anything that nature doesn't handle on its own. Europe disregards it as having no medical value at all. At this point, I was waiting to receive their results with the numbers etc. They only sent me my son's. The numbers/measurements of his head fit well within the parameters of the 'normal' chart that they included for comparison, so it made no sense that he 'needed a helmet'. They never sent my daughter's complete information, despite repeated attempts. I then received a call from their insurance person, who smoothly informed me that he was 'thrilled' to let me know that they had 'a deal' with my insurance company where even though this was a COSMETIC procedure and not medically needed, it would be considered a medical necessity, and instead of $12000 worth of helmets, I'd only have to pay $1200. Not including the biweekly visits. Describing insurance fraud was about the last straw for me so I informed the person who called to follow up that we weren't interested. She was very rude and then called my doctor to inform my doctor that we were 'non-responsive', which...ok? My doctor thought it was weird. She was also really upset that they would put a four-month-old in the helmet. She didn't expect that at all and said she would never recommend a child that young have a helmet. Several other people I know have subsequently described similar experiences, especially the way the technicians start throwing out words like 'deformed' when they see the parents hesitating. One woman in my mommy group said she was suspicious, so she took her son to a specialist at UCLA for a second opinion. The specialist said his head was fine and there was no need for a helmet. When she repeated this information to Cranial Technologies, they tried to argue that the UCLA ACTUAL CRANIOLOGIST WHO, YA KNOW, WENT TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AND STUFF, was a poor doctor who didn't know what he was doing. In the following weeks, I did some research and among other things, stumbled upon some job postings for 'technicians'. The ads stressed NO MEDICAL EXPERIENCE needed and instead said they were looking for HIGH END SALES EXPERIENCE, preferably with some childcare experience as well. THEY ARE HIGH-END SALES PEOPLE PREYING ON PARENTS' CONCERN FOR THEIR CHILDREN. My children are a year old now and their heads are perfect. Their facial features are not deformed or asymmetrical. Billions of people have been born with slightly wonky heads since the dawn of time and yet somehow there aren't a ton of weird bell tower hunchbacks lurching through the city streets. Babies aren't perfect looking but they're growing creatures. Don't let people pressure you into what is essentially a sales scam. read more

I am so grateful for the hard work and care that these ladies put into their appointments and patients here at cranial tech. I felt nervous and kind of like a bad mom for how my baby's head had been shaped, but they put me at ease right away. I felt supported, they were so helpful and always willing to help me move around appointments to fit my busy schedule. At the end of treatment, my baby's head looks beautiful and I'm so thankful for the kind women and excellent technology at cranial tech! read more

Terrible experience. First off the band- it's NOT a band- it's a full helmet with a small opening at the top. It's costs about 4000 and even though they tell you insurance says it's covered. ITS NOT. But they won't tell you that until after they have started service. We have paid $1000 out of pocket and then have just received another $1500. They do not disclose these details at the beginning. I would NEVER recommend this place or go back! BE CAREFUL and DONT SIGN DISCLOSURE. They make you sign a disclosure and in small writing it says that more charges will be added and they are not responsible for it. Awful place, SAVE YOUR MONEY. Otherwise your going to be paying 6-8k, but they won't tell you that! read more

I always wondered why they lie so much. They secretly want to steal the kid and kidnap to a foster care instead of being nice people and recommending parenting classes. They don't care and they don't wanna help and they are just out to adopt the kid. Don't trust them and take parenting classes and take better care of your kid than a worthless helmet. read more

Cranial Technologies - Medical Centers Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Now that my son has completed his treatment, I want to repeat how wonderful the staff is and how exceptional our experience was. When we had difficulty with the fit of the initial band, the therapist was in regular communication with me by phone and email. She ultimately secured a new band for us at no charge. The new band fit perfectly and it was smooth sailing from there. My son's situation was very moderate and the decision to proceed with the band was very borderline. We are extremely pleased with the results, beyond our expectations. The staff was helpful and accommodating, seriously addressing our concerns related to treatment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Thank you especially to Rachel, Emily and Benjamin for making us feel so safe. read more

Do your research before you decide to go here. My pediatrician referred us to this place. First and foremost they made it very easy to set up the appointment and worked with our schedule. At the time they even offered Saturday appointments. Parking would of sucked if it was during the week. It's like $9 to park in their private garage, and no street parking close by. Long story short everything during our visit was extremely vague. They gave our photos and off we went home. I got a call back 5days later to say that our insurance did not the DocBand and what day we would like to come in and start the next process. Again we have no idea what we were getting our little girl into. Nothing was explained to us. I had to reach out to a Facebook page to ask moms if they knew what my numbers meant. So after doing some research I decided to go pay a visit to Stellar Prosthetics in Pasadena. Sean was kind enough to explain every single detail to me. As someone that has no clue about Plagiocephaly I didn't know what questions to ask. How can I know? One thing that stood out to me about Stellar prosthetics is that they scan your baby every single visit. That way they are able to give you exact numbers on the progress of your baby. That was something that was not explained to me at CT. That is because they do not scan your baby every visit, instead they measure by hand and basically guess their progress. I wanted exact numbers and not estimated guesses. Especially if I am paying thousands of dollars for this process. I think this is the biggest reason why many patients end up needing more than one band at CT. Hope this information helps other parents going through this overwhelming process. read more

Our Doctor notified us that we should see a cranial tech to round his cranium more. My wife and I were pretty freaked out at the thought of the whole thing but when my wife had her visit they totally eased her mind. The front desk was very friendly and informative, the doctors were really nice and friendly and answered all her questions. They informed us about the insurance and payments and all the financial info ahead of time it also kinda put us In a time crunch to make a decision but they were very helpful! When we did our visits the doctors were very help and informative. They did have some vague answers for us at times but I believe that is because they don't have all the facts for the answer... I would really recommend bringing your child here, if your Dr. recommends you taking your child to a cranial technologist. read more

Our baby wore her helmet for 13 weeks and we would go in every 2 weeks for adjustments with Jenna. She was the BEST! She always answered any questions we had and was kind and knowledgeable. Baby graduated today, her results were incredible and we couldn't recommend them enough! Thank you to the staff as well! Everyone was very welcoming! read more

Our child started treatment around 3 months and it lasted for about 8 weeks. We are happy with the final result of our child's head shape, however, we had to be our child's advocate and ask a lot of questions as the clinicians explanations didn't often make sense to us. For example, we saw one area of our child's head appear more prominent than another side, looking imbalanced, but was told that it is normal for that shape to "come and go", which was not logical to me. In addition, our child outgrew their helmet within 4 weeks and we had to fight to get a second one to continue receiving treatment. This experience ultimately affected my trust in the clinicians as I became unsure about their care for my child's head shape development. Some advice I'd recommend to parents: ask lots of questions-if something doesn't make sense, call or ask them about it, speak with your Pediatrician regularly, and be your child's advocate. Also, try to get an explanation of what you can expect to see when treatment ends. Lastly, ask them what will happen if your child outgrew their helmet prematurely. Overall, it's a very emotional time, especially if you gave birth within a few months, but the treatment time goes by quicker than you think and your baby won't notice the difference. Our child slept and ate well perfectly fine in their helmet, which is what I was hearing from most parents. read more

We had a great experience. Everyone is very baby friendly and welcoming. Staff was very knowledgable and understanding. Thank you for a great experience and helping our little guy fix his flat! read more

Avoid this place like the plague. I give it 1 star because some stuff got done. My 8 month old boy had a misshapen head. My wife looked online. She found Cranial Technologies (we found out later it's because they do massive advertising). We went. Got the Doc Band. 4 months later, they said we were all done because his head was good now, kicked us out of the door (without giving us the option to continue with a new helmet) and we were left lost and confused after spending $2500 on a helmet that fixed his misshapen head when you look at him directly, but when you see him from behind or above, the back of his head was badly misshapen still. We went to a Physical Therapist (Bright Star Physical Therapy) and they were SHOCKED that treatment was stopped. They recommended us (right away) to Stellar Prosthetics Orthotics. Upon inspection, they too were SHOCKED! They said his head was shape 11 (or something like that, it's the alignment from from to back and side to side). An 11 is badly out of shape. Our kid is 13 months old now but they said they have successfully reshaped kids this late in the stage (and later) to a shape 3 or 2...Stellar Prosthetics seems way more professional, and professionals that have done this for a very long time. Do your research (here) before going anywhere for a Doc Band. Visit a few places before deciding which place is best for you. Trust me, I wish I did (but it worked out for us in the end...but for more than twice the money now...but our kid is worth it!) read more

It's been 3 months since graduation and my baby's head is lookin good! When he was about 4 months we started the DOC band and he wore it for 6 weeks. Jenna, who was super helpful and sweet, estimated 6-9 weeks and warned us it could be on the later side. But we were very careful about following the rules and the results are amazing. The before and after pictures of his plagiocephaly show a really big improvement. Honestly, I can't believe that was such a big time in our lives and now it's gone. It was definitely annoying to have ONE more thing to do (taking the band off during diaper changes, the recommended neck stretches, taking it off for an hour at bath time and scrubbing it with hydrogen peroxide) and at first while your baby's body is acclimating to it they smell BAD. Like, didn't know such a little guy could smell so bad lol. But it's totally worth it, really. She said his head will now continue to grow in the right direction and take the pressure off of his face and head where there was pressure, and she was right. It just looks better and better. If you're on the fence I say just do it and it's over before you know it. read more

Cranial Technologies improved my son's plagiocephaly torticollis dramatically. He was breech in the womb, so his head was wedged up against a rib the whole time, and it wasn't until after he'd been born that his unusual head shape and neck tilt presented itself to us. The pediatrician warned us about flat spots on the head shortly after birth, but we were so overwhelmed by having a newborn that we simply lacked the bandwidth to worry about his head shape right away. Then, at the baby's 2-month check up, the pediatrician said our son had severe plagiocephaly and referred us to Cranial Technologies in Pasadena. During our free assessment, the occupational therapist, Polly, was very friendly and warm with the baby, and upfront about the fact that he would need physical therapy and two helmets. Cranial Tech was transparent from the start about the kind of treatment my son would need. We knew from day one that this would be a long process and that while some babies only need one helmet for 5 weeks, our son would require much more time in the DOC bands. He wore the helmets for about six months, and every time we went to Cranial Tech for a checkup, we were met with warmth and professionalism by the entire staff. In fact, when his second helmet wasn't sitting on his head right, our occupational therapist Jenna ordered a replacement one free of charge to ensure the best outcome. You can really tell Jenna, Polly and the others care so much about the babies they treat. I disagree with the comments here about Cranial being a greedy operation. While I'm sure not every kid who steps foot into Cranial Tech could significantly benefit from a helmet, our son desperately needed one to correct his head shape, and it's close to perfect now that we are done with treatment. This is going to greatly impact his quality of life, as he will likely need glasses someday, and severe cases of plagiocephaly can affect the way glasses fit on a person's face. As for parking, there's a small paid lot in the building complex, as well as lots of free street parking on Marengo. Cranial Tech has a full changing table with diapers and wipes in the bathroom, and they will also give you diaper bags if you have to change your baby in the patient rooms. As some have noted, one downside to the helmets is that insurance companies can take a while to cover payment for them, if at all. We were very lucky that our insurance paid the cost of both helmets, but insurance approvals can take weeks or even months to process, so we did have to pay for the helmets up front ourselves in order for our son to get on the right helmet-wearing schedule. You want to make sure your child starts wearing the helmet during major growth spurts, otherwise you're missing your window of opportunity for rounding out the head. It's important to be aware of how long the insurance approval process can take, and that you may need to front the helmet cost in order to take advantage of the growth spurts. Everyone at Cranial Technologies is incredibly helpful with every step of the process, but you might want to go online and research some day-to-day helmet-wearing tips before you get one. For example, we didn't realize going into the helmet journey that our Graco SnugRide Elite 35 was incompatible with the helmet because the seat had head padding you could not remove. We ended up needing to get a new car seat without head padding. Onesie changes are also made harder with the helmet, as many onesies require you to go over the baby's head, unless you're only dressing your kid in button-ups. The helmet must be worn 23 hours a day for the best results, so you have to minimize the amount of time the helmet is coming off, especially if your child is also in physical therapy as many helmet-Wearing babies are. Once your baby starts eating solid foods, it can be very messy, so sometimes it's best to take the helmet off during these feedings. My son would often get food on his hands and then rub his face, dirtying his helmet. The older they get, the more challenges the helmets can bring, especially in hot weather. It's important to be patient throughout the process, especially if you have a kid who is older than six months and going through a slower growth stage as such. Be patient and remember that there WILL be an end date to all of the helmet cleanings and demands! Overall, I had a great experience with CT and feel I know so much more about the malleability of baby skulls than I did before having my son. If I ever have another child, I'll know what to do to help prevent plagiocephaly, all thanks to Cranial Tech (avoid overusing convenience devices such as swings, and promote tummy time as much as possible). I wouldn't be happy if my next kid had to wear a helmet, but I'd rest assured knowing he or she would be in good hands with the people of Cranial Tech. read more

Horrible customer service. Terrible process, difficulty getting through to anyone on the phone, unless you are a new customer. If you are an existing patient, trying to get a hold of anyone is nearly impossible. I selected the new customer line (because that's the ONLY one that answers the phone) to try to speak with a manager. Both managers were "in a meeting." This company's management is hidden and you cannot find no ends. read more

We have nothing but good things to say about this facility. There's seems to be a lot of petty reviews in our opinion. First we were very fortunate to have an insurance that covered almost the whole bill. Yes some complaints say there was issues but that would seem to be an issue with your specific insurance. We had no problems whatsoever. Pay the whole up front and got a check for the insurance portion in the mail maybe a week or two later. As far as the staff. . The front desk is always very friendly and all smiles. The photo staff was always very friendly and loving to our kiddo. Jennifer was amazing with our little man. She was very friendly, knowledgeable, and helped encourage and guide us the whole way through the process. She was seriously amazing for us! We never had issues with the band or adjustments. So maybe we were just fortunate but with our experience it was always a smooth adjustment. The timetable was exactly how we were told in the beginning. We genuinely having nothing but high regards for this cranial facility. We are forever grateful for the work they did for us and the now beautiful round head our son has thanks so much cranial tech Pasadena!! Five experience! read more

Cranial Technologies - Certificate of completion!! - Medical Centers Near Me - Pasadena, California

What a wonderful experience we had when visiting the Pasadena office during our Doc band adventure. The professional staff were always welcoming and kind. Though I was hesitant to do this in the beginning, I am super happy to have done so now knowing how easy the facility makes the weeks of anticipation to graduate. Thank you from our family to yours. read more

So I'm really unhappy with cranial technologies cuz all they do is email here email there gave me the runaround about my insurance if they will take it or not but they couldn't tell me that they don't take medical so the helmets are 2500 bucks which is ridiculous found A better clinic its called hanger clinic honestly stuff is really friendly that will let you know if your medical coverage when you're there they don't give you the run around with emails finally my sons going to get his helmet and we are going to fix his flat and it's not plain white is going to be camouflage and I don't have to wrap it's already camouflage so if you guys have medical go to Hanger clinic they will let you know when you're there if your insurance covers that read more

Cranial Technologies - Baby Perseus getting measure for his helmet from Hanger clinic - Medical Centers Near Me - Pasadena, California

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We had a great experience here. Waiting area was always clean. I never waited more than 5 minutes to be put in a room. Everyone I interacted with that was employed there was nice and friendly. Rooms are spacious and kid friendly with toys to keep them busy if you have to wait. Nicole was the best clinician she definitely enjoys her job and it shows. She never made it feel as if she was rushing us in and out. She always made it a point to ask how things were going with the helmet and if we had any issues. She also is very good with children. My Boys enjoyed every visit with her. She even took the time to chat a little making the visit a little more personal. Overall my son Diego had a great experience with his helmet and I would highly recommend this place for anyone who needs a doc band for baby. The only con to this place is if you can't find street parking (which is hard to find and I never did in the 3 months we visited) you have to park in their underground parking which you have to pay for. $2 may not sound like a lot but if you multiply that by a few visits it adds up. read more

The therapists are amazing! They make sure you feel very comfortable with the entire process, including the consultation. Yes of course, the process is very expensive. I find it more hard on the parents than on the babies, and I'm speaking from experience. However, the reason why I would give this place 3 stars is because of the receptionist. She is so cold and rude. She ruins the entire experience. read more

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