A Passion for Changing Lives (w/Dr. Steffen Decker) [Ep.58]
Manage episode 425883289 series 3479169
I had an amazing conversation with my extremely impressive colleague, Dr. Steffen Decker. Steffen is a prominent orthodontist in the UK who started his career treating adults with Invisalign and lingual braces and has since developed a passion for helping younger patients with interceptive orthodontic treatment. We discuss:
- How Dr. Soroush Zahgi inspired Steffen to focus more on interceptive treatment and airway.
- How restorative dentists such as Dr. John Kois and Steffen’s wife helped Steffen understand the detrimental long-term impacts of an extraction/retraction approach to orthodontic treatment.
- The role of an oral habit in the aberrant craniofacial growth and development of one of Steffen’s twin sons.
- The importance of a thorough diagnostic process, including listening to your patients, in order to determine the etiology of the presenting malocclusion.
- Why so many orthodontists remain opposed to treating patients earlier/younger.
- A recent debate I had with a colleague on social media about determining and treating the etiology of malocclusion.
- The difference between left-brained and right-brained individuals, and how that can determine who is more open to changing their approach to patient care.
- The logistical challenges associated with having randomized controlled studies on the benefits of early treatment, especially as it pertains to airway.
- Why CPAP was originally approved based upon a study with only 5 patients, yet studies showing the benefits of expansion on airway of hundreds of patients are deemed insufficient evidence of its efficacy.
- The influence of environmental factors on the development of malocclusion and the fallacy that the etiology of malocclusion is completely genetic.
- Why Steffen has parents film their child sleeping with a baby monitor and send it to him.
- That once you see and feel what you can do to change the lives of younger children, you will never be the same regarding your approach to early treatment.
- The need for all those who have had the privilege of changing a patient’s life through early treatment to share that message with others.
LINKS:
-To contact Dr. Decker: Steffen@theorthodonticspecialist.co.uk
-Tuncay & Schiffman article: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11794785_Maxillary_expansion_A_meta_analysis
-Papadopolous Review of Tuncay & Shiffman article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3111736/
-Link to episode w/parents of a 6yo patient Dr. Mike treated: https://youtu.be/wJFP_9NFnv0?si=0QhYGPAQ3HV0G2dn
-To contact Dr. Mike: DrMike@TheOrthoCoach.com
78 episode