Transforming Lives Through Airway Health: The Role of Dentistry

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition affecting millions of people across all age groups, often stems from dentofacial developmental deficiencies—placing dentistry at the forefront of treatment.

The Breathing Wellness Summit offers an innovative series of courses designed to empower dentists and their teams to recognize their pivotal role in addressing these challenges.

This dynamic educational series provides clinical insights and actionable knowledge to help dental professionals integrate sleep therapies into their practice. Through engaging lectures, participants will learn to distinguish between treating symptoms and addressing the root causes of OSA. You'll gain an understanding of how dentofacial developmental deficiencies contribute to downstream health concerns, including cardiovascular issues, depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, chronic allergies, restless sleep, snoring, and daytime drowsiness.

By focusing on the critical connection between airway health and overall well-being, the Breathing Wellness Summit introduces a holistic approach to care—equipping dental teams to play a transformative role in improving their patients' lives

How Did We Get Here? The Origins of Sleep

Presented by Dr. Ben Miraglia
2 CE Credits • AGD | PACE Code: 430

Healthy craniofacial development in children lays the foundation for optimal airway function, proper dental alignment, and overall health. Early intervention to support this development can have lifelong benefits, particularly for addressing issues that may contribute to compromised airway health.

This segment delves into the critical role of craniofacial development and explores how targeted therapies, such as palatal expansion, myofunctional therapy, and promoting nasal breathing, can positively influence a child's growth and well-being.

Program Highlights:

• Palatal Expansion: Learn how guided expansion of the palate can improve airway size, support proper facial growth, and alleviate issues such as crowding, snoring, and sleep-disordered breathing.

• Myofunctional Therapy: Discover the importance of addressing oral muscle function and how exercises targeting tongue posture, swallowing patterns, and lip seal can enhance craniofacial growth and airway health.

• Importance of Nasal Breathing: Understand the profound impact of nasal breathing on craniofacial development, oxygenation, and overall health, while gaining strategies to encourage this vital habit in young patients.

This comprehensive approach empowers dental professionals and their teams to identify growth patterns, intervene early, and provide therapies that support the holistic health of children during their most critical developmental years.

The Paradigm Shift: Looking Beyond the Mouth

Presented by Dr. Jon Caulfield
2 CE Credits • AGD | PACE Code: 730

Sleep-related breathing disorders, including conditions like upper airway resistance syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea, affect millions and can severely compromise breathing and overall health during sleep. These disorders not only rob individuals of restful sleep but also contribute to chronic health conditions, diminished vitality, and reduced quality of life.

A revolutionary treatment is changing the landscape of care: novel oral appliance therapy. Unlike traditional mandibular advancement devices or palatal expansion techniques, this approach addresses the root causes of airway obstruction. By combining midfacial redevelopment to correct the nasopharyngeal airway with mandibular correction to improve the oropharyngeal airway, this therapy offers a powerful, non-surgical solution for upper airway remodeling. Supported by over 50 published studies, it provides a proven pathway to improve breathing, sleep, and health outcomes.

Program Highlights:

• Understanding Craniofacial Growth and Development: Gain in-depth knowledge of normal craniofacial development and its critical impact on airway health and function.

• The Influence of Modern Lifestyles: Explore how Western cultural and lifestyle factors disrupt craniofacial growth, leading to sleep-related breathing disorders.

• The Importance of Nasal Breathing: Learn to recognize facial and dental clues that signal compromised nasal breathing and understand its effects on systemic health.

• The Dentist’s Role in Airway Transformation: Discover how dentists can positively influence key anatomical and physiological factors to improve a patient’s breathing, sleep, and overall health.

• Integrating Sleep Medicine for Enhanced Patient Care: Understand how incorporating sleep medicine into your practice not only transforms patient outcomes but also elevates your practice to new levels of care and growth.

This comprehensive program equips dental professionals with the knowledge and tools to tackle sleep-related breathing disorders effectively, delivering cutting-edge, team-based solutions that transform both patient lives and practices.
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Meet the Experts

Ben Miraglia, DDS

Dr. Ben Miraglia, a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine, is a member of the ADA, the AGD, the NYSAGD, and the Ninth District Dental Society. He has been in private practice for 25 years and currently maintains a family practice in Mount Kisco, NY, with a focus on sleep and airway, TMD and occlusion, and full-mouth restorative dentistry, including Invisalign® and dental implants. Dr. Miraglia lectures nationally on sleep-disordered breathing, GP orthodontics, TMD, occlusion, and comprehensive dentistry. He is on the board of directors for the American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Miraglia is a frequent guest speaker at the Dawson Academy, presenting viable solutions to increase oral volume capacity to reduce/eliminate symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing and TMD. In 2015, he was recognized as a “Leader in Continuing Education” by Dentistry Today Magazine and was recently honored with a position on the President’s Council of Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, NY.

Jon Caulfield, DDS

Dr. Jon W. Caulfield owns and operates Epic Dentistry in Littleton, Colorado where he takes an integrated, whole health approach to dentistry, focusing on the areas of Sleep, Airway and TMJ. He has been fortunate to work alongside world leaders in neuromuscular occlusion and pneumopedics and is now paying it forward, teaching hundreds of dentists worldwide how to integrate solutions for sleep, airway and TMJ into their practices. Dr. Caulfield is an instructor at the Institute for Craniofacial Sleep Medicine and leads the Clinical Advisory and Advocate Program at Vivos Therapeutics. A graduate of University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, Dr. Caulfield also holds an advanced graduate degree with Occlusion Connections and a diplomate status with the American Sleep and Breathing Academy.

The Vivos Institute® is an Accredited Provider for Continuing Dental Education.

Elevate Your Practice with Advanced Integration in Sleep and Airway Medicine at The Vivos Institute®

Transform your practice with The Vivos Institute’s Comprehensive Sleep and Airway Medicine Foundational Training. This essential series is designed for teams, equipping you with the advanced skills and knowledge needed to seamlessly integrate sleep and airway health into your practice. With a focus on practical application, you'll enhance patient care, drive practice growth, and optimize team collaboration. Our comprehensive practice integration training and dedicated onboarding support ensure that your team is fully prepared to implement these transformative solutions, improving both patient outcomes and the success of your practice.