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Narrow Upper Jaw & Sleep Apnea Issues

May 31, 2024

In this short clip from The Doc Podcast, Dr. Deluke and Dr. Bockow discuss the current scientific literature supporting a correlation between patients with narrower upper jaw width and the prevalence of sleep-related breathing disorders such as sleep apnea. Learn more about Sleep Apnea, proper diagnosis, and treatment options at https://inspiredortho.com/sleep-apnea


Dr. Rebecca Bockow is a dual-trained board-certified orthodontist and periodontist – one of only a handful in the country. She lectures nationally on periodontics, orthodontics, interdisciplinary orthodontics, airway, and skeletal growth and development.

— Clip Transcript —

Dr. Rebecca Bockow
” We have solid literature and not one paper, but multiple papers identifying. And now with CBCTs, we can really get a sense of the width of the upper and lower jaws. And then, if you look at the adult literature, there's a paper that came out, I think, two years ago. Gosh, it's 2020. It's a 2021 paper, but it was published in in the ENT and Sleep Literature. Tula at all 2021."

” It correlates a narrow maxilla with tongue-based collapse and sleep apnea. And so now you talk about how does this present in adults. It's not about the crossbite, but they didn't correlated with a crossbite, it was just maxillary width."

Dr. Michael DeLuke
” I actually posted that on a social media site and people were attacking that it was a correlation, not causation. And, you know, we get in that whole debate. But the point is, is we know it's been proven evidence-based many, many times that adult patients with a narrower, maxilla have a higher incidence of sleep-related breathing disorders and obstructive sleep apnea."

” And, I mean, you could say, you know, even correlations can be very powerful when they're when they're true and when they're consistent."

Dr. Rebecca Bockow
” And, inner molar width of 30mm or less, they all had apnea. Yeah. and it's measured with the AHI confirmed with DICE. That's that's pretty compelling evidence."

Dr. Michael DeLuke
” I agree."

Dr. Bockow loves to create beautiful smiles for her patients, setting them up for a lifetime of dental and airway health.

Thank you for watching this video from Inspired Orthodontics. Please consider liking the video and subscribing to our YouTube channel. To get in touch with us, visit inspiredortho.com, find us on social media @InspiredOrtho, or send us a text at 425-453-0551.


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