Beyond the Loupes: Seeing More Than Just Teeth
Designed for dental and healthcare professionals who want to recognize the functional patterns behind common oral findings and better understand how breathing, oral function, sleep, posture, and whole-body health intersect.
Looking Beyond the Teeth to Understand Function
This continuing education course explores the connection between oral function, breathing, swallowing, posture, sleep, craniofacial development, and overall wellness.
Designed for dental and healthcare providers, this course takes a practical look at the signs and compensatory patterns that can appear in everyday care, from mouth breathing, low tongue posture, and tongue thrusting to clenching, grinding, altered head posture, sleep disruption, and changes in oral health.
Participants will learn how to look beyond isolated dental findings, recognize patterns that may point to underlying functional concerns, and use practical screening, communication, and referral strategies to help patients access appropriate interdisciplinary care.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
-
Identify common signs of oral facial myofunctional disorders and recognize how they may present in dental and healthcare settings.
-
Explain the relationship between oral function, breathing, swallowing, tongue posture, craniofacial development, sleep, and dental stability.
-
Recognize compensatory patterns such as mouth breathing, clenching and grinding, forward head posture, low tongue posture, tongue thrusting, and altered oral rest posture.
-
Describe how functional patterns may contribute to oral health concerns, TMJ stress, chronic muscle tension, sleep disruption, and other whole-body symptoms.
-
Apply practical screening and observation strategies to identify airway and myofunctional red flags and determine when further evaluation may be appropriate.
-
Integrate interdisciplinary referral and patient communication strategies that connect clinical observations to function, underlying concerns, and appropriate next steps.
Course Access Instructions
After purchasing, participants will receive access to the course video and quiz. Participants should watch the full course video, then complete the quiz at the end of the course.
If the participant passes the quiz, they will receive a CE certificate by email. If they do not pass, we will follow up with next steps for retaking the quiz.
This course is open to all professionals; however, ADA CERP continuing education credit is available only to eligible dental professionals. Participants outside the dental field are welcome to purchase and view the course, but will not receive ADA CERP CE credit.
-
This course is intended for educational purposes only and does not replace individualized medical, dental, or nutritional care.
-
Athena Dental Solutions, LLC is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a CE provider may be directed to the provider or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at CCEPR.ADA.org.
Athena Dental Solutions, LLC designates this activity for 1.5 continuing education credits.
This continuing education activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the standards of the ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program through joint efforts between Athena Dental Solutions, LLC and Ashley Dorado, BSDH, CPNP, CertBBM, COM®.
Ready to See Beyond the Teeth in Your Clinical Practice?
Join the course and start applying these concepts immediately