Oral Integration

Think, do, move, grow.

A very big thank you to the many people that have already bought my new book and likewise to those who have had such positive feedback to share. This book is going to be so helpful for many parents is what I keep hearing.
Available as kindle and print versions via Amazon

Sleep disordered breathing: A parent’s guide https://a.co/d/58bWPNA

I am often asked what neuroscience has to do with myofunctional therapy. Everything!!! When something is not functioning you have to know how to do a systems check and know when to make a referral.

and
A large scale comparison of in-lab in adults reveals a high correlation between ( ) and .

Snored to death- the book

Have a kid that grinds their teeth?

ADD/ADHD and sleep disordered breathing often present with the same symptoms. The child is mouth breathing/ snoring or having apnea’s during sleep which can leave them exhausted. Often times when kids are exhausted they are hyperactive, can’t sit still, and are disruptive in class. They aren’t getting a restful sleep because their little bodies are in fight or flight all night. A sleep study is always recommended prior to medication to rule out sleep disordered breathing as the cause. Call to make an evaluation and I can help ❤️

When trying to get parents to understand that when I talk about airway-focused ortho for their child, I'm not talking about braces.

Braces are way out there in the future...kinda like college.

What I'm talking about is correct craniofacial development and facial guidance. This, my friends...is like preschool. It needs to come FIRST!

The reason it needs to come first is because if the bones of the face develop correctly, then there is “less to correct” later…and it can mean the difference between an airway that looks like a coffee stir stick or a smoothie straw.

Do your child a favor. Check for misguided craniofacial growth.

Here are just a few examples…
✔️Crowding
✔️Crossbite
✔️High, narrow palate
✔️Open bite
✔️Mouth breathing
✔️Snoring
✔️Poor sleep
✔️Behavior issues
✔️Dark circles under the eyes
✔️Long narrow face
✔️Obvious abnormalities

If you see anything that appears to be a concern, do your homework to find an airway focused orthodontist. This may not be the orthodontist in your town or the one your dentist refers you to. You have to research and ask questions.

Sleep disordered breathing is not just about low oxygen levels it is also about anything that disrupts the sleep patterns to the point the brain is activated also known as an arousal. Reflux is one such cause of an arousal and reflux is more prominent in those with sleep disordered breathing.

The effect of laryngopharyngeal reflux on arousal in patients with obstructive sleep apnea - PubMed The effect of LPR symptoms on arousal in OSA exists. The more severe the LPR was, the more frequent the arousal in OSA patients was. Thereinto, respiratory event-related arousal and spontaneous arousal were the most obvious.

Assessing for tongue ties has little to do with the ability to stick out the tongue or not

https://neurosciencenews.com/child-sleep-brain-development-21148/

Children Who Lack Sleep May Experience Detrimental Impact on Brain and Cognitive Development That Persists Over Time - Neuroscience News Children who sleep less than 9 hours per night have significant differences in brain regions associated with memory, intelligence, and well-being compared to their peers who sleep 9 or more hours per night. Less sleep in children was also associated with increased risks of depression, anxiety, and i...

How do you feel about chiropractic care for a newborn?

The first time, 10+ years ago, a parent told me they were taking their newborn to a chiropractor, I almost fell out of my chair. Most pediatricians will tell you that you shouldn’t take your child to a chiropractor, but I couldn’t deny the results some of my patients were seeing. So I Took the time to get to know a few that I trust wholeheartedly to not harm a baby. And I’ve seen just too many good results to think it’s a coincidence.

One thing I promised myself when I was a younger physician was that I would never get stuck in a rut, that I would never stop learning, that I would always keep my mind open. I’ll never be perfect, but I’ll always be improving.

And, like any good health care, you shouldn’t just take them when there is an issue.

What have you take your baby to a chiropractor for?

I’ve referred for:
-sleep issues
-gerd
-fussiness
-gassiness
-after a fall or accident
- ear infections
-and more


Www.allies4health.com

See the problem?
Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) needs to be considered before making a diagnosis of ADHD


Snored to death- the book

Effects of Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia and Chronic Sleep Fragmentation on Gut Microbiome, Serum Metabolome, Liver and Adipose Tissue Morphology - PubMed Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) and chronic sleep fragmentation (CSF) are two cardinal pathological features of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Dietary obesity is a crucial risk intermediator for OSA and metabolic disorders. Gut microbiota affect hepatic and adipose tissue morphology under conditi...

Adderall is a commonly prescribed drug for kids with ADHD. It contains four salts of amphetamine, a stimulant.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the most popular treatments were stimulants that acted only for four to six hours. Most kids now are taking ones that last 12 hours.

Over the past two decades, parents and teachers have reported epidemic levels of children with trouble focusing, impulsive behavior and so much energy that they are bouncing off walls. Educators, policymakers and scientists have referred to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, as a national crisis and have spent billions of dollars looking into its cause.

What is interesting, is that the medical literature has been showing a very strong connection between kids diagnosed with ADHD, and underlying sleep issues.

Are they just tired?

What if, as a growing number of researchers are proposing, many kids today simply aren't getting the sleep they need, leading to challenging behaviors that mimic ADHD?
Sleep disorders often mimic ADHD symptoms, causing inattentiveness and restlessness in people who don’t have ADHD.

Growing evidence suggests that a segment of children with ADHD are misdiagnosed and actually suffer from insufficient sleep, insomnia, obstructed breathing or another known sleep disorder.

But the most paradigm-challenging idea may be that ADHD may itself be a sleep disorder. If correct, this idea could fundamentally change the way ADHD is studied and treated.

75% of people with ADHD have sleep disturbances and that the less sleep they get the more severe the symptoms. In one paper, scientists showed that a group of children with nighttime breathing issues who were diagnosed with ADHD no longer met the diagnostic criteria for the disorder after they had their adenoids or tonsils removed to treat the sleep problem.

That means if kids snore, and have symptoms of ADHD, you need to investigate their breathing at night.

This includes development of the dental arch which supports the airway at night and tendencies to mouth breathe.

Don’t ignore kids who don’t sleep well.

Do you or a family member suffer from these issues?

Vitamin D in Synaptic Plasticity, Cognitive Function, and Neuropsychiatric Illness.

“Over a billion people worldwide are affected by vitamin D deficiency. Although vitamin D deficiency is associated with impaired cognition, the mechanisms mediating this link are poorly understood. The extracellular matrix (ECM) has now emerged as an important participant of synaptic plasticity and a new hypothesis is that vitamin D may interact with aggregates of the ECM, peri- neuronal nets (PNNs), to regulate brain plasticity. Dysregulation of PNNs caused by vitamin D deficiency may contribute to the presentation of cognitive deficits. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning the role of vitamin D in brain plasticity and cognition could help identify ways to treat cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric conditions.”

Paper: https://www.cell.com/.../fulltext/S0166-2236%2819%29300062

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34984972/

The role of craniofacial maldevelopment in the modern OSA epidemic: a scoping review - PubMed The studies in this review suggest that environmental factors are associated with changes in craniofacial development. However, most studies were heterogeneous and low-level studies, making strong conclusions about these relationships difficult. Future rigorous studies are needed to further our unde...

This is something I have observed over the years and wondered about.