J. Sabo May 2019
Highland Springs HERALD
May 2019
701 Highland Springs Avenue, Suite 12 Beaumont, CA 92223 www.tmjandsleepapnea.com babylaser.com 951.769.1616
Collaborating With Colleagues to Help Our Patients It Takes a Village
T his winter, I was overjoyed to learn that I had earned my diplomate status with the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. The past few years have included earning over 300 hours of continuing- education credits, completing a rigorous exam, and presenting case studies to the board to earn this status. So, when I achieved this feat, I looked at my husband and asked, “What’s next?” Teasingly, he replied, “You’re done for a while.” I couldn’t help but laugh because I’ve always loved learning. I know my husband would support me if I wanted to continue my education. But I am taking his advice for now and enjoying this new designation as one of 40 to become a diplomate among California’s approximately 34,000 licensed dentists. My educational exposure to this field and my personal experience with a sleep-medicine journey from the patient’s perspective have given me a great story to tell my colleagues. As dentists, we have a unique opportunity to screen our patients for signs and symptoms during our exams. I love to teach my fellow colleagues what to look for and how to proceed with treatment recommendations. For example, this winter, I was honored to present to an online dental forum, “The Changing Face of Dental Sleep Medicine.” I saw their passion for the topic grow, and we were able to connect on the importance of a team- integration and interdisciplinary approach to treating sleep-disordered breathing with our medical colleagues. This is actually an approach that I’ve found great success with when quarterbacking care for my patients, especially the children. Unlike adults, when we treat children, we are creating a plan for someone who is still developing. This makes their treatment options more promising and complex because the methodologies can affect their physical growth and cognitive development.
I didn’t achieve diplomate status so I could be the one-stop shop for children with sleep disorders. I did it so I could position myself as a tour guide for their journey.
For example, children’s treatment plans for sleep-disordered breathing will often include muscle therapies, orthodontic care, and ear, nose, and throat care. These experts must work together to find solutions that will give the child the best chance for developmental success. After all, it takes a village to raise a child, and it certainly takes one to grow a child’s airway!
I didn’t achieve diplomate status so I could be the one-stop shop for children with sleep disorders. I did it so I could position myself as a tour guide for their journey. I value the village we’ve built, and I feel blessed knowing I have a group of professionals who can offer guidance in their expertise.
God bless,
–Dr. Jessica Sabo
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The War Pigeon Who Saved the ‘Lost Battalion’ Brave Little Cher Ami
both birds were shot down. When friendly fire began raining down on the 77th, Major Charles White Whittlesey felt he had no choice but to send the last pigeon, Cher Ami. The pigeon’s desperate note read:
Long before the invention of radios and cellphones, homing pigeons were used to send messages as early as the sixth century. During World War I, war pigeons carried lifesaving messages past enemy lines for the American and French armies, often being wounded in the process. In 1918, Cher Ami, a black check hen used by the U.S. Signal Corps, became the most famous of them all.
“We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it.”
As Cher Ami rose from the brush, she was shot down, to the despair of the watching soldiers. However, after a few seconds, she fought her way back into the air, flew through a torrent of gunfire, and made it to division headquarters 25 miles away. She had been shot in the breast, the eye, and the leg.
On Oct. 2, the United States 77th Infantry Division was trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne
Forest during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, a three-month push by the Allies during the final throes of World War I to force the Germans to surrender. It became the bloodiest battle in U.S. history. For six days, the encircled division endured relentless attacks and suffered heavy casualties, but their orders were clear: Don’t retreat and don’t surrender.
Because of Cher Ami’s brave flight, 194 of the original 554 men of the 77th Infantry Division survived the battle. One month later, World War I came to an end. Cher Ami survived the war as well, thanks to the surgeons who performed emergency surgery on her. One soldier even carved her a little wooden leg. She became a well-known hero to both soldiers and children in the States. For her service in Verdun, the French Army awarded her the Croix de Guerre, and she was inducted into the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame. Cher Ami finally succumbed to her wounds in June of 1919 and is now on display in the Smithsonian alongside Sergeant Stubby, a terrier who served 18 months on the Western Front.
The division dispatched two homing pigeons with requests for help, but
Dr. Sabo Shares Her Son’s Story With Orofacial Therapy Owen’s Story
As a parent, I understand how distressing it can be to watch your child live with sleep-disordered breathing. My son Owen was diagnosed with sleep apnea when he was 4 years old. Now 10, Owen has vastly improved, and part of this growth is due to the tremendous work of his breathing educator and orofacial myofunctional therapist, Emily Clawson. I first began working with Emily when she was a dental hygienist in our practice. Now, as a certified orofacial myology specialist and trained breathing educator, Emily focuses on breathing education and orofacial myofunctional therapy, also commonly called orofacial myology. Together, we treat patients with sleep- disordered breathing and structural and functional craniofacial disorders, such as tongue thrust and mouth-breathing. Each patient varies, but for some, working through how deep, shallow, fast, or slowly you breathe during the day can affect your brain’s response to breathing during sleep. Similarly, the muscle habits during swallowing
and posture in between swallows can affect the child’s posture and tone during sleep. These skills are just a taste of the orofacial therapies Emily coaches her patients through.
For example, Emily explains that she often treats patients who consistently mouth-breathe, which can lead to negative facial and dental changes, especially in the developing child. Emily teaches these patients proper breathing techniques, and the myofunctional therapy then addresses rest position of the tongue, lips, and jaw, as well as tongue range of motion, muscle balance, chewing, and swallowing. Owen is just one example of a growing number of children who have been influenced by this therapeutic method. A 2014 study evaluated children who had undergone surgery to remove their adenoids and methods to expand their palates. All of the children were cured of their obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) after the surgery and expansion, but 13 of the children who did not participate in myofunctional therapy had a recurrence of OSA. Meanwhile, the 11 kids who did the therapy remained free of OSA. Additionally, the study found that myofunctional therapy decreased the severity of OSA by half in adults and 62 percent in children. At Highland Springs Dental Care, we strive to help you and your children breathe easier, sleep better, and live a healthier life. Learn more by calling 951.769.1616. If you would like more information about the work Emily does, please visit her website at RedlandsOFM.com or call 909.809.4083.
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By the time most kids are in grade school, they can brush their teeth on their own. Whether or not they want to is another matter. Encouraging children to regularly brush and floss can be a daily struggle for some parents, but there are helpful tools to make dental health easy and fun. Learn more about some of the options below. Make It Fun Instead of presenting brushing and flossing as something your child has to do, turn it into a game. An easy way to do this is to have your child decorate a poster and draw a column for each member of your family. Yes, you get to participate, too! Each time someone brushes and flosses when they should — once in the morning and at night — that person gets a sticker to place on the poster. You could even offer prizes for earning a certain number of stickers. Soon, you will discover your kiddos actually want to brush their teeth. Get Connected In today’s ever-growing digital world, there is no shortage of helpful apps. In the dental realm, apps like Brush DJ offer fun music and videos to make brushing entertaining, while others, such as KidsDental, feature fun and informative videos and games. There is a variety of digital options to choose from, depending on your child’s age, your devices, and what aspects of oral hygiene you want to teach your child. Fill Your Bookshelf Authors have been tackling teeth, the dentist, and even the tooth fairy for decades, and this dedication has produced goofy and informative publications. Laurie Keller’s “Open Wide: Tooth School Inside” takes readers through a day at “tooth school” with Dr. Flossman and his class of 32 teeth. Learn about brushing, flossing, and evil tooth decay with this hilarious take on dental hygiene. For a comprehensive read on dental health, look no further than “The Tooth Book: A Guide to Healthy Teeth and Gums” by Edward Miller. Featuring loose-tooth tips, dental visit outlines, and brushing advice, Miller has compiled a fun go-to guide for teaching kids about all aspects of their baby teeth and growing adult chompers.
There are many ways to teach your children about good oral health, and we’d love to help! Learn more and schedule your child’s dental visit by calling Highland Springs Dental Care at 951.769.1616.
Have a Laugh
Sudoku
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www.tmjandsleepapnea.com babylaser.com 951.769.1616
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Inside This Issue Thankful for My Village
The War Pigeon Who Saved the ‘Lost Battalion’ Expectations of Oral Therapy Get Your Kids Excited About Oral Health Take a Break
What Is the World’s Best Exercise?
The World’s Best Exercise
Not all exercises are created equal. In fact, there is one form of exercise that is better than many others: walking. Harvard Medical School took a look at various exercises and concluded that walking is up there with swimming and tai chi in terms of health benefits. Regular walking can help maintain good cholesterol and blood pressure levels and keep your bones strong and healthy. One study showed that 40 minutes of walking every day helped people reduce blood pressure from hypertension to prehypertension, and then eventually to normal over several months. Walking can even keep many different kinds of diseases at bay, such as diabetes and heart disease. In addition to these physical benefits, walking daily can improve your mood and overall mental health. As simple and straightforward as walking is, it can be difficult for many people to find the time. Most experts agree that you need 30–60 minutes of physical activity per day, but the good news is that you can split those minutes up throughout your day. For example, you can take a brisk 20-minute walk in the morning before work, followed by another one at lunch and one more after dinner. Those 60
minutes also don’t have to be strenuous; they just need to happen. However, the more time you put into walking, the more you will get out of it. If you slowly increase your distance and speed, you’ll end up burning more calories and strengthening your legs over time.
The great thing about walking is that it’s not particularly
taxing on the knees, and you can move at your own pace. It doesn’t get any better than that! To get the most out of walking, schedule your walks for after mealtimes, especially the ones that come later in the day, like lunch and dinner. It’s a great way to aid digestion and burn calories — which can’t hurt your waistline!
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