Can You Help Find Emma?

Episode #358 with Dr. Tracey Nguyễn

Dentists can have a great impact on airway health. And yet, they have been the least active in this field — especially pediatric dentistry. As Jeff Rouse says, adults are roadkill, but kids can be saved! And today’s guest, who is passionate about bringing awareness to the dental community, will tell us how. Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Tracey Nguyễn from ASAP Pathway to share intervention strategies in airway and how to identify those she calls the Emmas of the world. To learn about ASAP Pathway and how you can start helping children, listen to Episode 358 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Airway is not just a field for orthodontists and pediatric dentists.

General dentists need to drive the field of airway.

Look for signs and symptoms of dysfunctional airway before setting teeth.

Don't oversimplify or overcomplicate things. Just do good dentistry.

The pediatric medical community wants dentists to get involved.

Quotes:

“I dabbled in sleep, but I really didn't like all the occlusal changes with sleep. It really didn't jive with my philosophy because I'm sitting here dialing in the occlusion, and then I'm going to put an appliance that just messes it all up.” (1:57—2:12)

“[Jeff Rouse] talked about the impact of airway in our occlusion, and vice versa. Basically, his philosophy now at Spear is, ‘Is my treatment going to be airway-positive, negative, or neutral?’ And that really made sense with me. I didn't understand why it was okay to have these messed up bites if you had sleep apnea, but not okay if you didn't. So, there's the ethics in what you're supposed to do.” (2:28—2:58)

“Now, I talk more on the peds side because Jeff [Rouse] will say the adult side — he calls it roadkill. Basically, you're done. There's nothing I can do for you. But kids, you can. And the interesting thing is, I didn't understand why the dental community wasn't as concerned when we had the most impact. So, my journey has been about making the dental community more aware.” (3:25—3:56)

“I really think general dentists are going to drive this field. We’re the ones that do these comprehensive treatment plans. We’re the ones that understand how to talk to our specialists. We’re the ones that know how to bring everyone together. We’re the ones that have to drive it. It’s not a field strictly for orthodontists, strictly for pediatric dentists. And that's what I'm seeing. I'm seeing more and more general dentists want to do it; they just don't know how, or what they're supposed to do.” (4:33—5:07)

“[What dentists get wrong about airway is] that we’re not good enough to be involved in it. It’s so weird when I say that, because when we talk about this, I speak to so many dentists that are like, ‘Well, an ENT has to get in first and take the tonsils and adenoids out.’ I was like, ‘Well, you know it’s beyond tonsils and adenoids, right? You know tonsils and adenoids are not a fix.’ And it’s interesting because dentists, they don't realize that they can do so much and guide these kids and direct them in the right treatment, just get to the right care.” (5:55—6:31)

“Us as general dentists, we understand comprehensive care for adults, but we don't understand comprehensive care for children. And comprehensive care for children deals with growth management and making sure that this child is going to develop the best he or she can be. And I don't think we get that. Our focus is about fixing the problem, not looking at red flags.” (6:35—7:08)

“I think that people overcomplicate it. Just seeing all these camps, it’s like, ‘Hey, guys. If you're going down these rabbit holes and taking all these classes, the one thing that you're forgetting to do is to diagnose what you're treating.’ It’s just basic dentistry. And