From Mouth Breathing to Functional Wellness: Rewriting the Airway-Dental Narrative
Designed for dental and healthcare professionals who want to recognize airway dysfunction, understand its connection to oral function, and integrate airway-focused screening and referral into everyday care.
Connecting Airway, Oral Function, and Functional Wellness
This continuing education course explores the connection between breathing, oral function, craniofacial development, sleep, posture, and functional wellness.
Designed for dental and healthcare providers, this course takes a practical look at the clinical signs and behavioral patterns that may point to airway dysfunction, including mouth breathing, low tongue posture, tongue scalloping, clenching and grinding, altered oral rest posture, enlarged tonsils, and compensatory postures.
Participants will learn how to recognize airway red flags, use practical screening approaches, communicate findings with patients in a clear and compassionate way, and build collaborative referral pathways with myofunctional therapists, ENTs, orthodontists, sleep providers, and other members of the care team.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
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Identify common clinical, behavioral, and anatomical indicators of mouth breathing and airway dysfunction in dental patients.
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Explain the relationship between nasal breathing, oral rest posture, tongue posture, craniofacial development, and airway function.
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Recognize compensatory patterns such as forward head posture, clenching and grinding, low tongue posture, altered jaw movement, and overuse of accessory muscles.
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Describe practical airway screening and referral considerations, including health history, sleep questionnaires, tonsil assessment, CBCT when indicated, sleep studies, and myofunctional evaluation.
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Discuss how dental professionals can communicate airway concerns using patient-centered language that connects clinical observations to function and possible root causes.
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Integrate an airway-focused workflow into dental care by identifying red flags, educating patients, coordinating referrals, and collaborating with an interdisciplinary care team.
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.
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This course is intended for educational purposes only and does not replace individualized medical, dental, or nutritional care.
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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 Rethink the Airway-Dental Connection?
Join the course and start applying these concepts immediately