Nasal Breathing & Disordered Sleep

“Restoration of Nasal Breathing Is the Key to Reversing Sleep Disordered Breathing” by PETER CATALANO

AAPMD Medical & Dental Webinars

I just listened to a great webinar by Peter Catalano, ENT about airway importance. Many clinicians teach that anxiety is the cause of clenching and grinding. However, recent research shows that the primary cause of grinding your teeth (bruxism) is actually due to nasal obstruction. Dr. Catalano finds that the elimination of bruxism in children is highly likely with simple nasal surgery. Maxillary growth (the “floor” of the nose) is 60% complete by age 4 and 90% complete by age 12, so it is imperative to understand the airway of children. During the pandemic, Dr. Catalano conducted a study to determine correlation between children with ADHD and obstructed breathing. There were 101 children in the IRB approved study. All participants had positive scores on the Barkley Validated Executive Functioning questionnaire (for ADHD) and NOSE scores (for nasal obstruction). After nasal surgery, he found that the improvements in executive function were highly likely in 60% of children (completely reversal in 37.6% and significantly improved in 22.4%). When assessing the respiratory system, clinicians often put a lot of emphasis on the septum and inferior turbinate by diagnosing the patient with inferior turbinate hypertrophy or recommending a septoplasty to improve breathing. However, utilizing graphics, he taught that the majority of airflow that goes to the lungs passes through the middle turbinate. Therefore, it is of greater importance to understand the opening around the middle turbinate. Great speaker! Highly educated and interesting. I recommend listening to him if you get the opportunity.

“Restoration of Nasal Breathing Is the Key to Reversing Sleep Disordered Breathing” by PETER CATALANO

https://www.aapmd.org/webinars