FAQ

Airway Question #1: When should I be concerned?

• If you snore.

Snoring is very COMMON but it's not NORMAL. It is a sign that you are not getting oxygen while you are sleeping.

• If you clench/grind your teeth.

Again, very COMMON but not NORMAL. This is your brain trying to get more oxygen. When the very sensitive brain detects a drop in oxygen, it sets off some emergency plans. One is your fight or flight response. This is used in the time of stress/danger, when all of the extra oxygen is diverted from things that are not important in times of danger, like digestion, and sends it to the large muscles (including the jaw muscles) to allow for fighting or fleeing. Also, when we clench/grind, we tend to pull our jaw forward, this pulls the tongue from the back of the throat and opens the airway.

• You feel tired/fatigued all day, unrefreshed upon waking or your child is impossible to get moving in the morning.

This is so common that you'll find this under "symptoms" of almost every medical diagnosis. When your airway is compromised, you don't get sufficient oxygen, when your brain detects a slight drop in oxygen, it "wakes" up and works to get more oxygen. This "awakening" can happen many times an hour during the entire night of sleep. This sleep is not quality sleep. Imagine a small child poking you every 5 minutes all night long, night after night.

• You get up to use the restroom more than one time a night or a child is bedwetting after being potty trained.

This is not normal, ever. When we sleep, a hormone is released that removes fluid from our bladders. This is how our body is designed to ensure an uninterrupted sleep. If you need to use the restroom during the night, it tells us that you are not getting into the cycle of sleep where the antidiuretic hormone is being released. *BTW, this is the same cycle that many other important hormones are supposed to be released to do their job. Just think of what you might be missing!

• You have unexplained high blood pressure, weight gain or diabetes.

Airway Question #2: where can I learn more about airway for my child?

Books that we recommend to help learn how to encourage proper arch development:

• "The Complete Guide to Breastfeeding" by Sally Olds, Laura Marks, MD and Marvin Eiger, MD

• "Baby Led Weaning" by Gill Rapley, Ph.D., and Tracey Murkett

• "How to Feed your Baby and Toddler Right" by Diane Bahr

Dental Question #1: What is the difference between biomimetic and traditional composite fillings?

The biomimetic technique is a specific technique that is used to treat and prevent fractures and restores the tooth to its original strength. The word biomimetic means “mimic nature”. I was trained in California in 2014 and using this technique has transformed my practice. I chose to use this technique as it fits with my preventive focus. It restores the tooth to the strength that it had prior to having decay or filling, thus ending the “cycle of death” that can occur with restorations.

Dental Question #2: How do you safely remove mercury fillings?

We use several techniques to protect you from re-exposure. These include a nose cone that provides surgical grade oxygen, draping, chunking (removing the filling in large pieces), an ample amount of water, Isolite dam, ADS extraoral suction system, and 3 surgically clean air purifiers.