Airway Driven Dentistry

Infants, teenagers, and adults all need proper airway clearance for good oral health and to be able to avoid chronic health conditions like asthma and COPD. Developmental issues are responsible for a host of additional health problems, including allergies, and can contribute to uncomfortable symptoms like snoring, sleep apnea, teeth grinding and clenching, and difficulty swallowing. Dr. Carollo offers airway driven dentistry in Florham Park, NJ to diagnose and treat these issues.

Gaining a Greater Understanding of Airway Driven Dentistry

As one of only a few New Jersey dentists offering airway driven dentistry, Dr. Carollo believes in taking a holistic approach to oral healthcare. For example, he provides parents with early education about infant feeding that can help to prevent significant issues later in life.

Most parents are not aware that the way a baby drinks a bottle or eats soft foods during infancy can have a long-lasting impact on overall oral health. The way infants learn to eat and drink doesn’t allow them to develop strong tongue and orofacial muscles.

Orthodontic issues, which parents often assume don’t develop until the pre-teen years, begin forming much earlier in life. Children can develop issues with crowding, extra spaces, overbites, and misaligned teeth due to the eating and drinking habits they developed as infants.

Tongue Dysfunction and an Underdeveloped Jaw

Hundreds of thousands of children in the United States live with an underdeveloped jaw that causes significant dysfunction of the tongue. The reason for this is that 75 percent of jaw development occurs by age six, resulting in improper tongue positioning, inappropriate jaw dimensions, and breathing only through the nose. Unfortunately, these issues can persist long into adulthood.

Equipment We Use to Perform Airway Driven Dentistry in Florham Park, NJ

Although oral health issues caused by airway obstruction are common, each patient is unique and requires a tailored approach to diagnosis and treatment. Below is just some of the equipment we have on hand at Dental Sleep Medicine of NJ to help diagnose the problem:

• Capnometry evaluates breathing
• Cone beam technology allows us to evaluate the nasal cavity and airways, along with the possibility that you have temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).
• Digital X-rays and scanners evaluate the size and arches of individual teeth to determine whether any loss of tooth structure has occurred.
• Pulse oximeter evaluates the quality of your sleep.

Dr. Carollo can also check for periodontal disease by evaluating your saliva for genetic pathogens.

What to Expect When Receiving Sleep Treatment at Dental Sleep Medicine of NJ

Dr. Carollo feels passionate about sleep medicine, which is why he has worked in this field as a specialist since 1985. He is a proud Diplomate with the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and the American Sleep and Breathing Academy. He is also a good standing member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine.

After asking you several questions to learn more about your symptoms, Dr. Carollo conducts an Eccovision Airway Assessment that gives him baseline and collapsed airway readings. You should undergo a sleep study at this time as well if you haven’t already. Dr. Carollo can refer you to a sleep physician who will instruct you to undergo a sleep study at home or in a designated offsite location.

Dr. Carollo’s initial evaluation would normally cost $450, but he offers it free to all new patients. Once the results come back from your tests and sleep studies, you will meet with Dr. Carollo again to discuss options for treating your airway obstruction. Popular treatment options include CPAP therapy and oral appliance therapy. Both devices aggressively treat the symptoms of sleep apnea that could become severe enough to threaten your life.

Schedule Your Free Sleep Dentistry Evaluation Today

Just because you don’t know that you have a potentially serious oral health issue doesn’t mean it isn’t having a negative impact on you. We invite you to call our local dental practice today to reserve time for your free sleep dentistry evaluation with Dr. Carollo. You will thank yourself in a few months when you’re feeling much better.

Sources:

Airway Centered Dentistry: (The A, B, C’s of Treatment for Chronic Face Pain/OSA and Closing Anterior Openbite Without Ortho) (oralhealthgroup.com)