He has lectured nationally and internationally on topics of facial growth guidance, and is an orthodontic instructor for the American Academy of Gnathologic Orthopedics. With a sister and a daughter who both have Down Syndrome, Dr. Hockel has taken a special interest in ways to maximize the health and development of children with DS from an airway, orthodontic and facial development perspective. He and his wife Beth have eleven children, six boys and five girls. He is a graduate of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry.