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Good morning.

Many patients are surprised to learn that their gums and their heart are on speaking terms. But science is catching up to what airway dentists have known for years: oral health is a mirror to systemic health. And nowhere is that more true—or more urgent—than in the relationship between sleep, the airway, and cardiovascular disease.

In Today’s Edition:

1. The Mouth-Heart Connection: How poor oral hygiene and sleep apnea team up to raise your risk for heart disease.

2. Why Your Dentist Might Save Your Life: The role of dental screenings in detecting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

3. Surprise! Dentistry at the NIH: Meet the little-known division of the NIH that’s funding cutting-edge oral and craniofacial research.

4. CE Opportunities/Events

5-minute read👇

Clinical Corner

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Key Takeaways🔑

Dentists on the Front Lines of Heart Health

A recent expert article from ScienceAlert highlights how poor oral hygiene may contribute to inflammation that harms the heart. Bleeding gums, loose teeth, and oral bacteria aren’t just local problems—they can inflame blood vessels, disrupt circulation, and elevate your risk for heart attacks and strokes.

But there’s an even deeper connection most people (and even most physicians) aren’t aware of:

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the Heart: A Dangerous Duo

Obstructive sleep apnea—where the airway repeatedly collapses during sleep—has been shown to raise the risk of heart disease more than any other single factor. In fact, untreated OSA increases your risk of a heart attack 23-fold, more than smoking or hypertension.

When the airway collapses, oxygen levels drop. The brain wakes the body repeatedly—dozens or hundreds of times per night—causing chronic sympathetic nervous system activation (your body's "fight or flight" mode). This leads to:

Elevated blood pressure

Inflammatory overload

Insulin resistance

Cardiac arrhythmias

Vascular damage

And all this occurs silently, while you're sleeping.

You may not think of your dentist as part of your heart health team. But at More Than Teeth, we do more than polish smiles—we protect airways. We screen for the oral signs of OSA, like:

• Scalloped or enlarged tongue

• Bruxism (grinding)

• Retrognathic jaw position

• Periodontal inflammation

• Mouth breathing patterns

We're proud to align with the American Dental Association's 2017 policy, which encourages all dentists to screen for sleep-related breathing disorders. This isn't just best practice—it's a public health necessity.

🦷 Takeaway for Your Practice:
Don't underestimate the power of a few thoughtful questions. Our hygiene chairs are front-line opportunities for whole-body screening. When we connect oral signs to systemic implications, we redefine what “comprehensive care” means—for the patient, and for ourselves.

Business of Sleep

📈Better businesses = more lives saved!

Screening for OSA isn’t just life-saving—it’s practice-building.
With heart disease now linked to poor oral hygiene and untreated sleep apnea, dental professionals have a clinical and ethical opportunity to lead in preventive care. But here’s the business case:

• Over 80% of OSA cases remain undiagnosed. That’s a huge pool of patients already sitting in your chairs.

• Medically necessary sleep appliance therapy is often covered by medical insurance, not dental, expanding your billing options.

• Implementing OSA screening with tools like STOP-BANG and Epworth Sleepiness Scale can take less than 3 minutes per visit.

  Bottom line: Screening for sleep apnea adds massive value—clinically, ethically, and financially—while positioning your practice as a leader in airway and systemic wellness.

Something Sweet

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CE Opportunities / Events

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