Practitioner Spotlight with Dr. Kingdon K. Brady, a Dentist, and How He Successfully treated a Patient with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
We are speaking with Kingdon Brady, DDS, on the topic of Sleep Apnea, which is a widespread and dangerous condition that can be helped with dental intervention and therapies.
Tell Us a Story About a Patient with Sleep Apnea and How You Helped
Patient “Joe”, age 64, was seen in the office for an oral appliance for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Being a diabetic, Joe was suffering from regular disturbances in his sleep where he would stop breathing multiple times. This was documented by his sleep study and diagnosed by his physician as Moderate Sleep Apnea. The study recorded that he had 17 events of obstruction of the upper airway each hour during his sleep. This caused a significant decrease in airflow.
What is Looked at in a Sleep Study?
Sleep studies monitor & measure oxygen saturation, heart rate, airflow, stages of sleep, body position, leg movements, snoring, and movement in the chest and abdomen.
Scores are reported to be Normal, Mild, Moderate or Severe depending on the number of respiratory events per hour that cause a significant decrease in airflow.
What Can Happen With Sleep Apnea and What are Symptoms?
The dangers to health from Sleep Apnea include serious life shortening consequences such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and depression.
Joe was often tired during the day and state that he would most often fall asleep sitting and watching TV. He had difficulty remembering things. A big annoyance to Joe’s spouse was that he snored loudly, often waking her up.
What had the patient/client tried before seeking you out?
Joe had tried Over the Counter (OTC) sleep aids and devices. He tried nasal strips and nose cones. He sought the help of his medical provider who prescribed a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure), but Joe couldn’t tolerate wearing it.
His doctor referred him to me in 2014 to have a Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD) fabricated. The MAD oral appliance is an upper and lower appliance that helps maintain an open airway by bringing the lower jaw down and forward. That likewise takes time to adjust to wearing, but Joe persevered. After five years wearing the MAD, however, Joe still had problems sleeping.
How did you arrive at your present course of treatment?
At a five-year follow-up appointment to check his MAD, Joe was managing well with his oral appliance we created. He heard about this effective procedure that could keep his airway open 24/7 and was interested in learning more.
I spoke to him about NightLase® as an adjunct to his MAD. NightLase® is a laser treatment to change the collagen fibers in the soft palate (the area behind our molars and before our throat) into our “younger” collagen fibers. The heat of the pair of lasers tightens the collagen over three weeks.
There is no recovery period, no restrictions following the procedure, no change in voice, no swelling, no scalpels or stitches. NightLase® increases sleep quality by opening the airway. Unlike CPAP or MADs that only work when worn during sleep-time, NightLase® keeps the airway open 24/7. There is no appliance to wear and no compliance necessary from the patient.
What modalities or therapies did you implement and what was the outcome of the services you provided?
The non invasive, no-anesthetic process of NightLase® takes three appointments that take about 20 minutes, three weeks apart. The soft palate feels a bit scratchy the evening of the procedure. The patient is evaluated 12-18 months following the procedures to evaluate if a touch up treatment is necessary. It is expected that NightLase® will last 12-24 months.
We completed a series of 3 NightLase, laser procedures on Joe to non-surgically change the collagen fibers to a tighter fiber, much like cosmetic laser treatments. This brought the soft palate (back of mouth) tissue up and forward, thus increasing the space of the airway.
What is the Follow-up to the Procedure?
I encouraged Joe to continue utilizing his MAD and have a two-night follow up sleep study following his NightLase® treatment. Only the results of the sleep study will tell us if continued use of MAD is necessary. It is a perfect solution for a person with a normal score that snores.
Joe feels so much better with an unobstructed and more free-flowing airway that he is ready to start running again in life! The patients are amazed and enthusiastic that we have a treatment that keeps their airway more open 24/7 without complications or devices!
Why and When Did You Choose the Holistic Path?
The Holistic Path was chosen because many years of continuing education brought me to the reality that the body is an amazing healing machine given the opportunity. TMJ issues and symptoms are often helped by correcting a mechanical problem.
What Lessons Have Your Work and Personal Experiences Taught You?
We rely on knowledge of anatomy and how the body generally responds to help the body heal. Watching people’s lives change from shakes being eliminated to reduced headaches has made me want to continue to learn and understand more about the human body.
We are in the process of educating the medical and dental professionals about the benefits of NightLase®. Every patient has experienced a marked improvement in sleep quality. This has been documented by their FitBit.
Biography
- Dr. Kingdon Brady received his undergraduate degree from Purdue University 1978-1982
- DDS in 1992 from University of Tennessee
- Certified in Craniofacial Pain by American Board of Craniofacial Pain July 2011
- Board Certified in Dental Sleep Medicine by American Board of Craniofacial Dental Sleep Medicine November 2013 (1st group to sit for board certification)
- Continuing Education Institute for Advanced TMJ Studies, 63 hours, May 2003
- Dental Sleep Medicine Residency, Sleep Appliance, Oxford University 2005 ALF & Temopromandibular Joint Dysfunction 2006
- American College of Integrative Medicine & Dentistry Certified Ozone Dentist 2016
- Oxygen / Ozone Therapy in Dentistry 2019
- Fotona Lightwalker Laser Certified Dentist 2019
Kingdon K. Brady, DDS
Craniofacial Pain & Sleep Center, PLLC
Fort Collins, CO United States
View other holistic practitioners like Dr. Brady in our Holistic Health Directory
About Us
As holistic dentists, we've recommended products and services that supported our patients’ health for decades. In experiencing our own health challenges from mercury toxicity, we worked closely with many natural, alternative, and integrative health practitioners who aided our recovery as well as our patients’. We built this site to provide you with a simple-to-use, comprehensive, informational, and functional resource for your physical, emotional, and spiritual health & well-being.