Why should dentistry focus on airway disorders?
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Treating airway disorders is important because it is our primary physiologic function, we can’t go without air for very long! It takes about 3 minutes or so without air to start a cascade of events brought on by our automatic/autonomic nervous system to keep us alive. It’s the sympathetic response commonly known as the “fight or flight response” that kicks in to keep us alive. These responses include an increase in heart rate to get oxygen in the blood to all the organs in the body. The most important organ, being the brain, aka the command center, which will continue to keep us alive. Opening and keeping our airway open should be on the forefront of every Complete Exam.
