Sleep Apnea Treatment

• Do you suffer as much from using your CPAP machine as you did from Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
• Have you developed a secondary Central Sleep Apnea since being on a CPAP or BiPAP machine?
• Are you tired of wearing the facemask and wrestling with tubes and straps throughout the night?
• Has your Mandibular Advancement Device stopped working for you, or created other bite or jaw problems?

We have solutions that can optimize your upper airway non-surgically. Breathing obstructions associated with Sleep Apnea occur in a region of your upper airway called the pharynx. Important nerves that alternate the functions of breathing and swallowing control these muscles. When the nerves lose power, the pharyngeal muscles become lax and inefficient.

Our TAP procedure produces immediate results in the muscle tone of pharynx, specifically to that crucial part of the upper airway that is neurologically regulated. When the nerve power is switched back on, your previously obstructed airway region regains better tone while you sleep. The result is a natural, healthy and measurably effective solution to Obstructive Sleep Apnea and improvements in snoring.

Our complimentary consultation is designed to diagnose, or rule-out Pharyngeal Insufficiency Syndrome, or PIS. The primary characteristic of pharyngeal insufficiency is a minimal cross section area that does not physically allow sufficient flow of air on inspiration and expiration. We observe in well over a thousand of our clinical cases that this choke point occurs in the pharynx. Likely, the key reason the pharynx is susceptible to cavitation is because it possess attributes that suitably accommodate the functions of breathing and swallowing, therefore, it is both a “breathe-way” and the swallow-way”. These are opposite functions and cannot be performed at the same time, but do in the same space. This gives us a clue as to the nature of one of the bodies most complex functional spaces, the oropharynx. It is composed of muscles and other structures that follow centrally governed algorithims that allow safe and continual actuation between breathing and swallowing without missing a note. When this system works right, we don’t swallow our breath or aspirate our food and drink–and the airway minimal cross section area is physically capable of unperturbed respiration.

In cases where there are mal-positioned craniocervical vertebra impeding cerebrospinal “in-flow & out-flow”, venous drainage and nerve function, we frequently see week and dysfunctional pharyngeal muscles. It is believed that the mal-positioned vertebrae disrupts the nutrient flow and waste management system by disrupting the interstitial fluid convective currents that are continually needed to effectively clear metabolic wastes from the “pattern generating” neuron pools located in the central controlling system. These neuron pools primary function is to regulate swallowing and breathing reflexes, and monitor and maintain pH through a series of pH correcting behaviors ranging from increased night time urination frequency to bruxism. When the central neurology suffers, the peripheral nerve pathways that power the muscles of swallowing and breathing are weakened, increasing the risk of cavitation (airway collapse) and obstruction.  

We offer state-of-the-art home sleep tests that can be read by our medical specialist. These home sleep test are of medical diagnostic quality, and may be read by a medical specialist whose practice focus centers on sleep diagnostics.  Any potential insurance benefits may only follow this type of diagnosis.

This type of test is important because we may observe important characteristics of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and determine its direct active relationship with sleep apnea related bruxism.

A number of our patients who have sought us out for treatment for disorders like POTS, migraines, headaches, TMJ disorders and facial pain often discover an underlying sleep apnea condition through our testing and from this test learn that an undiagnosed sleep breathing disorder is producing teeth grinding or clenching just prior to a critical drop in their blood oxygen levels. 

Our sleep test differs from other sleep studies because it has the technology to accurately identify teeth clenching and/or grinding, and helps us to understand when the grinding or clenching occurs. Over 99% of night time, sleep teeth grinding occurs just seconds prior to an O2 desaturation event, and stops after the oxygen level corrects!

All of our Sleep Apnea Solutions include our TAP procedure and Equibite stabilization appliance. The TAP procedure improves the position of the atlas and axis, while simultaneously improving throat function. The TAP procedure optimizes function of  the pharyngeal airway and can be a very viable solution to those who are looking for an effective replacement of PAP devices which merely force air into your body. 

With improvements in atlas and axis alignment, the governing regions of the central system show immediate changes. Breathing is instantly affected. Since our sleep, breathing and swallowing centers are hardwired into our “fight”, “flight” or “freeze” brain survival centers as a failsafe, when these basic functions are more stable, especially breathing, there is reduced need for the body to go into a sympathetic response and produce cortisol, which produces anxious feelings. Therefore, our patients across the spectrum report less overall anxiety following the TAP procedure. 

Our TAP procedure is image-guided, safe and begins working immediately. Our special appliances augment and preserve the repositioned atlas in its most ideal position. Many who are looking for CPAP alternatives have found this to be an effective treatment for their sleep breathing disorder.  

Historical Perspective

I positioned my first atlas by hand in 1997, over 27 years ago, after a careful analysis of my patients x-rays which provided me with the correct angle to position their atlas under the cranial base. My tools were graphite pencils and specialized film marking templates that produced rows of calculations written on x-ray film, a low chiropractic table, and my hands. With these tools, I was able to nudge thousands of my patients atlases back into alignment. Years of clinical experience and many technological advances have opened many doors and brought many more solutions to patients suffering from atlas misalignments.

Starting in 2011 and finishing in 2013, I and my research partner, Dr. Dave Singh, PhD conducted a 9-module webinar series exploring the impact of intra-oral appliances on the human spine. In the same year we published a study that began the formal exploration of the relationship between the atlas alignment, jaw posture and the short leg. We introduced the TAP procedure combined with biomimetic oral appliances into the literature. The implications for airway improvement was clear from the very first.

It wasn’t until 2012 when I gained access to a mobile CT scanner bolted to the floor of a Sprinter van that I begin to see the first airway improvements after the TAP procedure alone! One year later, I acquired a CT on-sight and began measuring the airway changes before and after TAP. The results were phenomenal. While the combined effects of TAP and intra-oral appliances together were positive, the results of the TAP alone had the greater immediate impact. 

During this time we made another powerful discovery: Combining TAP with certain appliances had very positive effects on my patients ability to hold their alignment without relapsing. The Equibite Appliance system is our current state of the art for the atlas stabilization technology. It not only repositions the atlas, but stabilizes it where we position it.

Our clinical findings suggest that we can successfully design and build a custom intra-oral orthotic, worn on the lower teeth, which dynamically stabilizes the atlas and TMJ, largely preventing relapse and preserves the TAP induced improvements to the minimum cross sectional area of the once constricted oropharynx. From this stable relationship and rehabilitated position, we may now register the lower jaw into a more stable and more functional position without excessive forward advancement, and use this as a starting point for a variety of dental processes. This is a breakthrough in bite registration technology, and we offer it through our Equibite Appliance system.

One final note about OSA, if the apnea is severe, then we utilize FDA cleared growth and sleep appliances that are custom designed and worn at night while you sleep, and while you sleep, they work epigenetically to remodel the shape and grow the bone volume of the maxilla and mandible over time. This improves and may safely treat severe or unremitting OSA.