About the Doctor
It all started when…
I realized that being a dentist was the best way for me to help people overcome health challenges and become the best version of themselves. I used to think dentistry was just about teeth, but then I learned how Airway, Tongue Tie, and TMJ are powerfully connected to overall health. But we should rewind a bit to explain…
My mom is a nurse and my dad owned a computer store where I grew up tinkering with and building computers. From age 7 and up until my second year of undergrad, I would have told you I wanted to be a medical doctor when I grew up. Facing the excitement of the dot com tech boom of the late 90’s and souring on the idea of being in school and residency for 12 years, I switched my major to computer information systems. In fact, my bachelor’s degree is in computer information systems from Boise State University. I also hold an MBA from Northwest Nazarene University.
At the end of my MBA program, I realized I valued a career with the best combination of making a difference and being able to spend time with my family. I had an “aha” moment where I came full circle and decided I would become a doctor after all – a doctor of dental medicine. I left my career in information technology, completed my science prerequisites, and in 2010, I graduated from the University of Louisville School of Dentistry.
(This is not a typical path for a dentist. I share these credentials because I’m proud of how they have contributed to my mindset as a dentist (and a father, and a man). My background in technology and business and systems thinking helps me to see and understand things others might not be so quick to realize.)
During the first phase of my dental career, I gained experience working for large dental service organizations, but I always felt called to slow down and spend more time with each patient to discover and treat root causes instead of just managing symptoms. From the beginning, it was always my intention to treat every patient as if they were a member of my family.
In 2018, I moved back home with my wife and boys to the Treasure Valley of Idaho. I was able to craft my own private practice from scratch in Boise, Idaho: a practice dedicated to better Airway, Breathing, and Sleep for all mankind.
This is what all of my prior training and experience has led me to accomplish. I still carry all the same intentions, too:
I treat every patient as though they were my own family.
Speaking of family…
A PERSONAL NOTE
Helping my family is what sparked and fueled my interest in learning about airway dentistry from the start. I continue to treat my wife and three sons (ages 6, 9, and 12) for airway issues after recognizing that they were struggling with the symptoms of Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. I am also experimenting with and improving on my own airway issues in an ongoing attempt to learn and understand this from the perspective of those patients that I serve.
STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
I love to learn things that can help me, my family, and my patients. I always knew I wanted to go beyond the single tooth dentistry taught in dental school and invest in post-doctoral continuing education continuums.
I began my continuing education with the OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry where I learned the model of optimal dental health and biologic form of the teeth and jaw joints and how they meet in an optimal occlusion. I was fortunate enough to learn from amazing mentors including Dr. James Benson, Dr. Tom Dumont, and Bern Egger.
After I saw my youngest son go from suffering to thriving after an infant frenectomy, I shadowed Dr. Ghaheri and learned how to use a laser to do a full functional release of the oral restrictions that hold back the optimal expression of biologic form. Tongue ties and lip ties not only affect breastfeeding but also swallowing, speech, muscle tension, TMJ, and sleep apnea. The fascia of the tongue is at the top of the Deep Front Line of fascia that connects from tongue to toes and passes through the diaphragm, deep core, and pelvic floor.
I attended the AOMT Frenulum Inspection & Surgery Workshop and learned about diagnosis and treatment of tongue ties for infants, children, and adults. That’s where I learned that the appearance of tongue ties is much less important than function and symptoms and I became acquainted with Dr. Sourosh Zaghi and his functional frenuloplasty technique.
I completed Orthotropics Mini-Residency with Dr. Bill Hang and he opened my eyes to reading the face to understand the airway and how you can’t expand your way out of an anterior-posterior problem. In many cases you also need to develop or move the jaws forward.
I discovered Dr. Jay Harris Levy and I jumped at the chance to learn from him how teeth are sensory organs and how head posture affects occlusion. Jay introduced me to Dr. Joseph Yousefian and the world of Teledontics, a permanent structural solution to Airway Dysfunction and Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
My latest passion is learning and practicing the Gillespie Approach - CranioSacral Fascial Dental Therapy. Dr. Barry Gillespie, a dentist specialist in periodontics, went in search of his own healing from headaches and sinus issues. In the process, he learned and combined the best of cranial osteopathy, craniosacral therapy, fascial therapy, and dental techniques. The Gillespie Approach can be applied to patients of all ages, but it is especially effective when used as early as possible with infants to help unwind fetal positioning trauma and birth trauma before fascial strains and compensations pile up and become symptomatic.
Gillespie Approach–Craniosacral Fascial Therapy is a gentle healing modality that provides patients with a freely moving brain, spinal cord and fascial web, all critical to optimal health. Dr. Barry Gillespie, the founder of this therapy, also created the Baby Brain Score and discovered the Infant-Driven Movement concept and resulting therapeutic techniques for babies.
I’m excited to continue to learn and grow and offer the best individualized care to each patient.