Don’t miss this amazing conversation with Dr. Shereen Lim – author of the book “Breathe, Sleep, Thrive” and practicing dentist from Perth, Australia!   In this episode, we discuss:

• The origin of Dr. Lim’s passion for early interceptive orthodontics.
• The impact of early maxillary expansion on airway and breathing.
• Why Dr. Lim feels that starting treatment even before the age of 7 years old can be beneficial.
• What motivated Dr. Lim to write her book, “Breathe, Sleep, Thrive” and why it took 6 years to publish.
• The reasons why Dr. Lim wrote her book in a manner that can be understood by lay people.
• The flaws with the OSA scale as it applies to children and why polysomnography is not a good barometer of pediatric sleep-related breathing disorders.
• The importance of detecting mouth breathing and snoring in our pediatric patients and how the numbers lie when it comes to AHI and children.
• The reasons why nasal breathing is essential to good health and good sleep, and its impact on craniofacial growth and development.
• Common reasons why pediatric patients become mouth breathers.
• Why so many patients remain mouth breathers even after adenotonsillectomy.
• The relationship between palatal width and nasal breathing.
• The incidence of allergic rhinitis and subsequent turbinate hypertrophy in pediatric patients, and the impact it has on sleep-disordered breathing.
• One major reason why Dr. Mike thinks many orthodontists aren’t comfortable treating younger children.
• The numerous benefits of interceptive orthodontic treatment to expand the arches in young patients who present with a transverse deficiency, even in the absence of posterior crossbite.
• What Dr. Lim and Dr. Mike see as the future for airway-focused interceptive orthodontic treatment.

LINKS:

• Get a copy of Dr. Lim’s book, “Breathe, Sleep, Thrive” - https://www.amazon.com.au/Breathe-Sleep-Thrive-Discover-potential/dp/0645553212)
• DOC Podcast episode w/parents of 6yo with Sleep-Disordered Breathing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJFP_9NFnv0&t=7s&ab_channel=DeLukeOrthodonticCoaching
• Enroll in Dr. DeLuke’s comprehensive, 5-part CE course on interceptive orthodontic treatment - https://michael-deluke.mykajabi.com/offers/JwPTtF2z/checkout  
• Dr. Mike’s OrthoTown articles on interceptive orthodontic treatment:

o   Part I: https://www.nxtbook.com/farran/orthotown/orthotown-june-2023/index.php?startid=54#/p/54

o   Part II: https://www.nxtbook.com/farran/orthotown/orthotown-november-2023/index.php?startid=52#/p/52