1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:22,080 Hi, everybody, and welcome back to Airway First, a podcast from the Children's Airway 2 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:23,080 First Foundation. 3 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:26,120 I'm your host, Rebecca Downey. 4 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:30,520 My guest today is patient health advocate and wellness coach, Chris Duvall. 5 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:34,680 Over the course of her four decade career as a hygienist, she has been recognized for 6 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:39,440 her contributions to patient-centered dental hygiene, with honors from the International 7 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:45,640 Association of Ozone and Healthcare and Dentistry and the Oral Cancer Foundation. 8 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:50,760 A sought after speaker, Chris has taught masterclasses and presented in locations from Las Vegas 9 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:57,440 and Chicago to Cuba on topics including patient communication, ozone therapy, and advocating 10 00:00:57,440 --> 00:00:59,040 for patient health. 11 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:03,280 You can find out more about Chris and her mission to change the mindset of dental professionals 12 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:10,640 when it comes to patient health on chrisduvall.com or the lifeguardinitiative.com. 13 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,760 We are also proud and honored to have Chris as one of the members of the Children's Airway 14 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:17,280 First advisory board. 15 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:19,880 And now, here's my interview with Chris Duvall. 16 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:21,640 All right, good afternoon. 17 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:24,720 Thanks so much for joining us on the podcast today, Chris. 18 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:26,440 Oh, it's my pleasure. 19 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:27,920 Thanks for having me. 20 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:29,080 Absolutely. 21 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:36,000 So before we dig in to really, you know, the lifeguardinitiative and things like that, 22 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:40,000 I'd like to talk a little bit about your philosophy and what led to it. 23 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:45,920 I believe you had a life-changing event when you were a competitive swimmer. 24 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:52,160 And that's really what has led to your change of philosophy of care, if I understand correctly. 25 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:53,160 That is correct. 26 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:54,160 Yeah. 27 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,600 So would you mind sharing a little bit about that story with us? 28 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:58,760 Absolutely. 29 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:07,640 I have been carrying this event and the impact that it had on my life for many, many years. 30 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:10,360 So I'm happy to share it. 31 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:19,760 When I was 14, I had been a competitive swimmer for quite a few years. 32 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:25,560 And I almost always won the events that I swam in. 33 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:30,960 And I would, when I would finish swimming, I'd touch the wall and then I'd turn around 34 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:35,720 and lean against the wall and wait for the other swimmers to finish. 35 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:41,320 And this one particular event was at our home pool. 36 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:48,880 And I swam the event, won it, turned around, leaned against the back of the pool, and I 37 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:52,040 blew a great big bubble. 38 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:59,560 I had swam that race with a big wad of bubble gum in my mouth. 39 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:08,800 And when I got out of the pool, I said hi to the timer in my lane was a local physician 40 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:10,240 that I knew. 41 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:14,600 And the lifeguard got down off of her perch. 42 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:21,400 And the two of them met me on the way out of the pool. 43 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:25,040 And they stopped me and asked me if I wanted to live to be an adult. 44 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,280 And I thought, well, that's a stupid question. 45 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:29,280 Of course I do. 46 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:30,280 Why? 47 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:31,960 Why are you asking me that? 48 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:37,440 And they said, well, if you had aspirated that wad of bubble gum during the race, you 49 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:44,280 would have gone dead in the water and we would not have room out of help you. 50 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:53,520 And so just because, you know, we care about you, we want you to think about that and maybe 51 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,240 reassess doing that in the future. 52 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:58,560 Did you ever chew with gum again? 53 00:03:58,560 --> 00:03:59,560 Oh, no. 54 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:00,560 Oh, no. 55 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:01,880 No, no, no. 56 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:05,480 I learned my lesson. 57 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:14,000 But like I said, I have carried that with me for, you know, since I was 14. 58 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:26,200 And it is a kind of an anchor that I use to evaluate my communications and my relationships 59 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:27,400 with patients. 60 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:33,640 The great thing about them stopping me was that they cared enough and they were in relationship 61 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:39,160 enough with me that they felt comfortable that they could broach basically any subject 62 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:42,760 with me no matter what I did. 63 00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:51,520 And so I wanted to have and be sure I had that kind of relationship with my patients. 64 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:56,880 Because I think when you're in relationship with your patients, you can discuss anything. 65 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:03,900 And that's how I felt and have felt is that I'm overlooking a pool of patients. 66 00:05:03,900 --> 00:05:11,920 And when I see them doing things with their lifestyle or habits that I become aware of, 67 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:18,200 I had the opportunity to talk to them and tell them about what we now know and how that 68 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:26,960 can impact their dental health, their overall total body health and how it impacts their 69 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:27,960 longevity. 70 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:35,840 You know, and my goal has always been to help our patients have live a long and healthy 71 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:39,600 health span, not just a long lifespan. 72 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:40,600 Yes. 73 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:41,600 I love that. 74 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:42,600 Yes. 75 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:46,000 The amount of time that they're healthy during their life and extend that. 76 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:47,720 I love that. 77 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:53,960 And then it's this philosophy that has led to the lifeguard initiative. 78 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:55,280 Yes. 79 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:57,960 And so just that's my philosophy of care. 80 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,920 I developed it. 81 00:06:00,920 --> 00:06:12,120 And over time, I've shifted my mindset, my message and my clinical habits to match the 82 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:17,960 information, the science-based evidence we know now, or the evidence-based science, excuse 83 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:19,880 me, that we now know. 84 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:27,640 And I think that's the main impetus behind the lifeguard initiative is right now we have 85 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:35,680 such a mismatch between our protocols, our philosophy of care, how we're taking care 86 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,520 of patients, what we're doing for them. 87 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:43,440 There's a mismatch between the science that we now know. 88 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:44,440 What do you mean? 89 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:54,160 Well, like many of us that are hygienists are still focusing on scraping and scaling 90 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,680 tartar off a patient's teeth. 91 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:06,480 And what I'm focused on doing is helping them create a healthy biofilm or a healthy 92 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:08,340 plaque. 93 00:07:08,340 --> 00:07:16,680 So my focus is helping my patients create a healthy biofilm because I have learned that 94 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:27,520 when you create a healthy biofilm, the localized diseases and problems of the mouth go away. 95 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:36,920 And also the oral systemic impact of the biofilm creates a huge impact on the total 96 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,480 overall body health of the patient. 97 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:49,680 So my goal is in creating the lifeguard initiative is to create an atmosphere of change. 98 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:57,240 And that's what I call myself as an architect of change because it's so important that we 99 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:03,720 match our protocols with the science that we know today. 100 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:09,600 And we have to be flexible and keep updating how we take care of our patients. 101 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:14,320 So that's pretty much what the lifeguard initiative is all about. 102 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:27,320 And we're just wanting to get the enthusiasm and the support behind the initiative to just 103 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:35,120 help hygienist and dentistry and medicine really take the approach and their philosophy 104 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:41,800 of care that they're willing to prepare their patients for this healthy lifespan as opposed 105 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:47,840 to what we have been doing in medicine and dentistry is just repair the damage since 106 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:49,840 they were in the last. 107 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:54,040 And so that's, hence we just focus on tartar removal. 108 00:08:54,040 --> 00:09:01,880 But the lifeguard initiative believes that when we are taking care of our patients in 109 00:09:01,880 --> 00:09:07,480 this manner, we're leaving them to live in what I call the danger zone. 110 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:12,600 And that's that zone where the immune system has lost the ability to manage the bacterial 111 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:15,680 load throughout the body. 112 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:22,760 And that has tremendous impact on the health span. 113 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:33,320 Because as you know, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, all kinds of oral systemic problems 114 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:35,600 actually originate in the mouth. 115 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:44,080 So we're just trying to create a new paradigm and a new standard of care for how we take 116 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:45,080 care of patients. 117 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:51,800 Because what we're doing right now in mainstream medicine and dentistry just is not good enough 118 00:09:51,800 --> 00:09:52,800 anymore. 119 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:53,800 It's not enough. 120 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:54,800 Right. 121 00:09:54,800 --> 00:10:00,240 Literally participating in our patients disease process when we just repair the damage instead 122 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:02,040 of prepare them for help. 123 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:03,040 Right. 124 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:10,200 And one of the things that you and I have spoken about before is instead of just when 125 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,880 somebody comes in to visit the hygienist, you come in and you get your cleaning, one 126 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:19,560 of the steps that's missing, one of the critical steps is asking questions and not just asking 127 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:24,400 but actually listening to what they say, catching, you know, hey, I'm having trouble sleeping 128 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:27,640 or my allergies just don't seem to go away. 129 00:10:27,640 --> 00:10:33,760 These kind of small little statements that traditionally are just overlooked and you just 130 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,600 keep claiming them move them on through. 131 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:37,600 Absolutely. 132 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:41,680 And that's a big, big issue. 133 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:49,000 And that's the other part of with what we're doing is not good enough anymore. 134 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:56,560 So what has happened is that our questions that we have asked our patients for eons are 135 00:10:56,560 --> 00:10:59,040 still being asked today. 136 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:08,400 Like just to give you a quick example, I've taken out the question, hi, how are you today? 137 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:18,120 I think that is not a useful question for me when I want to find out what my patient values. 138 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:24,560 That's most important to me because when I know what my patient values, I can direct 139 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:31,840 and preframe all my conversations and questions around what the patient values. 140 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:35,440 And so instead of saying, hi, how are you today? 141 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:41,680 I say, it's great to see you as we're walking back to my operatory. 142 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:46,240 Tell me about something great in your life. 143 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:51,440 Because I've never had a patient say, oh, I made a big deposit in the bank today. 144 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:57,200 Or it just doesn't go, patients just go there. 145 00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:58,200 Don't go there. 146 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:04,760 They want to talk about, oh, my wife had a major illness and now she's doing so much 147 00:12:04,760 --> 00:12:09,360 better or I got to spend the weekend with my grandchildren. 148 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:20,640 So information like that helps me and cues me in to how I can preframe my conversation 149 00:12:20,640 --> 00:12:22,880 with my patient. 150 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:29,960 Because one of the other things I always know about a patient is I have asked them the question, 151 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,880 tell me about what you want for yourself. 152 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:43,200 Patients either want health or they want to avoid the consequences of not doing what they 153 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:48,320 think they should have or they want to avoid the consequences like what their brother ended 154 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:50,680 up with a swollen face. 155 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:51,680 Okay. 156 00:12:51,680 --> 00:13:00,440 So I am very focused on knowing what they value and what they want for themselves. 157 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:08,280 Those are the two most important things that I can use to help patients extend their health 158 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:11,160 span. 159 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,760 And this line of questioning not only tells you what they value and what they want for 160 00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:19,960 themselves, but it gives you insight into how are they sleeping? 161 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:21,680 Are they eating correctly? 162 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:23,680 What is their exercise like? 163 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:24,680 Yes. 164 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:35,040 So those questions then become matched to the information that we know today. 165 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:43,640 So I will ask them questions like tell me about how you sleep. 166 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:47,360 Not do you sleep or do you sleep well? 167 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,040 I don't ask yes or no questions. 168 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:56,440 But I ask questions that are what they call open-ended so that patients will give me some 169 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:02,840 feedback so that I can then ask some follow-up questions. 170 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:10,080 So questions need to be matched with the science today. 171 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:14,400 So questions are hugely important. 172 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:21,240 And here's a belief of mine, the quality of your questions determines the quality of your 173 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:25,360 service that you give to your patients. 174 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:29,080 Because if you're not asking quality questions, you're not finding out good information. 175 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,840 You're not being a good lifeguard. 176 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:32,840 Exactly. 177 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:40,720 And that's the purpose of the lifeguard initiative and becoming a lifeguard is to guard and guide 178 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:43,880 the health and wellness of your patients. 179 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:44,880 Right? 180 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:50,760 So with the science that we know is out there, why do you believe hygienists aren't being 181 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:57,520 trained to ask these questions, to find out, for example, like we just discussed something 182 00:14:57,520 --> 00:15:02,720 as simple as asking questions about their sleep, which could tell you whether or not 183 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:06,480 they have an airway issue or some other underlying concern. 184 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:11,640 Why do you think they're not being trained to ask these questions? 185 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:13,360 That's a great question. 186 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:24,640 And that's why the lifeguard initiative exists, because it's our goal to help hygienists shift 187 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:25,640 their thinking. 188 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:31,600 That's most important, because when you change the way you think about things, the things 189 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:37,360 you think about change, and I totally believe that. 190 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:42,960 You know, I think there's several different reasons, but a big one, what caused me to 191 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:50,480 change was my dentist that I was working for. 192 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:57,480 I started working for him 21 years ago, and in the first week, he said to me, I want you 193 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:05,200 to develop a wellness program for our patients so that they come back to see you when they're 194 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:07,480 healthy. 195 00:16:07,480 --> 00:16:08,480 And I thought. 196 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,640 It's a novel idea. 197 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:16,320 But have you been smoking something for me? 198 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:18,000 What planet do you live on? 199 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:21,240 How am I supposed to be able to do that? 200 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:29,760 But what I learned through a lot of reading and coaching is that the change has to begin 201 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:30,760 with me. 202 00:16:30,760 --> 00:16:39,840 I had to change first, and then I could affect change in patients. 203 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:43,960 And that's why I develop those questions. 204 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,560 Tell me about what you want for yourself. 205 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,000 You might as well take a three-inch piece of duct tape and put it over my mouth. 206 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:56,960 If I don't know the answer to that question, I can't go in and effectively work with a 207 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:57,960 patient. 208 00:16:57,960 --> 00:16:58,960 So. 209 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:02,560 Because at that point, you're just scraping, cleaning, moving them through. 210 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:03,560 Right. 211 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:08,560 And you're assuming a lot. 212 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:19,160 So it's just, it is a transformational approach to your relationship with your dentist and 213 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:22,840 with your patients and with your team members. 214 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,560 And you know, I lived this for many years. 215 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:34,080 And when I did decide to retire clinically, because I wanted to spend more time with my 216 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,520 husband. 217 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:45,720 I'd never been more inspired and excited about dental hygiene and dentistry and caring for 218 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:48,880 patients than I was on that day that I retired. 219 00:17:48,880 --> 00:17:56,360 But the interesting thing, I think, what was the driver behind this was a challenge. 220 00:17:56,360 --> 00:18:02,760 Because I had started work for this dentist because I quit my previous job. 221 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:04,720 I was so burned out. 222 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:09,160 I could not stand another day. 223 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:17,400 But I had to go back to work financially to support, help support us. 224 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:21,880 And I had made the decision that it was going to be different this time. 225 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:26,960 I was going to just change my approach. 226 00:18:26,960 --> 00:18:38,200 And then when, when Dr. McKay said to me, gave me that challenge, I thought, wow, I can 227 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:40,000 get excited about doing this. 228 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:46,080 And it really brought me back to my enthusiasm for what I could accomplish and how I could 229 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:53,880 use my education and my knowledge and the fact that what he said to me was so empowering. 230 00:18:53,880 --> 00:19:01,000 It really shifted something in my brain that said, I'm taking this on. 231 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,000 I love that. 232 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,000 Yeah. 233 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:07,640 And you actually wrote a really great article about that, which is on your website. 234 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:13,320 And we'll put a link to it in our show notes so that others can read and really get a firsthand 235 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:17,680 look at the impact that that had on you and your thought process. 236 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:18,680 Exactly. 237 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:27,200 And you know, the other thing that made it a big impact in it was that he said, create 238 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,760 a wellness program. 239 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,240 You are the person that can do it. 240 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:41,920 And as high genus, we don't hear that and get that empowerment and freedom to help create 241 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,800 something good for our patients. 242 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:50,280 We're just told, you know, get them in, get them out, clean their teeth. 243 00:19:50,280 --> 00:20:06,040 And so that was extremely empowering and powerful for me. 244 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:09,800 You're listening to Airway First with today's guest, Chris Duvall. 245 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:13,680 You can find out more about the Children's Airway First Foundation and our mission to 246 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:18,960 ensure that every child has access to screening, evaluation, and treatment of all children's 247 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:25,960 airway disorders before the age of six on our website at childrensairwayfirst.org. 248 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:30,560 You can also find a ton of great resources for parents on our website, including videos, 249 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:36,080 blogs, recommended books, comprehensive medical research, and more. 250 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:41,720 As a reminder, this podcast and the appendage expressed here are not a medical diagnosis. 251 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:46,480 If you suspect your child might have an airway issue, contact your pediatric airway dentist 252 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:48,720 or pediatrician. 253 00:20:48,720 --> 00:21:04,040 And now back to my interview with Chris Duvall. 254 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:09,480 But along with that challenge, he said, I'll give you continuing education that you need. 255 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:12,680 I'll give you the technology that you need. 256 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,480 And I'll give you a personal coach. 257 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:22,400 So imagine what I could do with those kind of marching instructions. 258 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:23,400 Right. 259 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,840 Because this is your deal. 260 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:28,320 I'll walk along beside you. 261 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:36,080 And if you need my help or if you get off on a bunny trail, I'll be there to help. 262 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:42,280 But it literally changed my life, literally changed my life. 263 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:50,800 And focusing on what I could do to prepare patients for health was the shift. 264 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:58,480 Shifted from repairing the damage to my mindset, my message, and my clinical habits all got 265 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:03,800 shifted to what can I do to prepare patients for health? 266 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:10,720 So that's when I learned that the majority of my patients and I was participating in 267 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:14,960 their disease process, they were living in that danger zone. 268 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:22,800 So my goal was to shift everybody to living in the safety zone, where their immune system 269 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:33,280 and their responses to different bacteria and problems, I could help prepare them and 270 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:36,120 mitigate those possibilities. 271 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:44,840 Well, in this paradigm shift that you're undertaking together, it's not just in how 272 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:49,680 the hygienists are changing their mindset and what they're asking. 273 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:55,800 It's also you're going to have to take on the dental practice itself, that it's no longer 274 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:00,960 the expectation of the hygienists just clean and get them to us within 15 minutes. 275 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:02,160 We have to change that mindset. 276 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,640 You have to go a step further and you're going to have to get to the curriculum, what these 277 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,280 hygienists are being taught in school, correct? 278 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:14,040 Yes, that is a huge part of it. 279 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:22,760 So we're, like I said, this is a global endeavor and we're going to be working in hygiene schools, 280 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:24,000 dental schools. 281 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:29,840 It's just a huge different, it's a different architecture. 282 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:40,960 An architecture of change to update your and match your clinical habits, your mindset and 283 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:47,120 your messages to what we now know today. 284 00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:51,840 It's been a long time that we have not been taking great care of our patients. 285 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:54,360 So it's time for a change. 286 00:23:54,360 --> 00:24:01,600 And this education that you'll be doing in fostering within the hygienist community globally, 287 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:06,240 hopefully, also will transition into parents. 288 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:10,200 For example, parents, there are a lot of parents that walk around with the mindset of, it's 289 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:14,320 okay if your child has cavities, if they're baby teeth, they're little, they're going 290 00:24:14,320 --> 00:24:16,360 to fall out, let's move on. 291 00:24:16,360 --> 00:24:23,240 But a hygienist that is actually focused on the health span of a patient is going to identify 292 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:27,320 that as an issue and now has to educate the parent. 293 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:28,560 Absolutely. 294 00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:37,800 Because we now know that children's dental health affects many other biological systems 295 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:45,960 in a child's body and that poor dental health or that lack of health will carry on and predicts 296 00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:52,080 that an adult is going to have, when they become an adult, they're going to have the 297 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:57,280 same kind of problems carry on and carry through into older age. 298 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:07,760 So it is critical that we start and change and the best place, that's why I love, I 299 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:15,600 love working with the Children's Airway First Foundation and you is that it's got to start 300 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:21,960 before birth and at birth and have the, the CAHF is developing the technology and the 301 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:31,960 resources and the, just the know how to, how to start preparing children and babies for 302 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:33,680 a healthy life span. 303 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:35,160 It's so critical. 304 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:36,160 It is critical. 305 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:37,160 Yes. 306 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:47,320 I know because today, that's one of the things, well, let me back up just a little bit. 307 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:54,160 One of the challenges that happens when kids go through orthodontics and a lot of kids 308 00:25:54,160 --> 00:26:03,680 go through orthodontics today is that today, mainstream ortho and in the past so heavily, 309 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:12,320 we were focused on treating the malocclusion or the crowding that we paid no attention 310 00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:22,360 to the airway and what type of tongue space we were creating when we extracted teeth and 311 00:26:22,360 --> 00:26:30,240 headgeared everything back and I am a product of having that type of care. 312 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:39,880 I had orthodontics done twice when I was right out of hygiene school and it has impacted 313 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:50,040 my life with AFib and sleep disorder breathing and weight gain and I can't begin to tell 314 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:56,160 you the impact of that in my life and so not only with our children, do we have to prepare 315 00:26:56,160 --> 00:27:03,120 them for a healthier tomorrow and take all of these things into consideration but we 316 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:11,320 now have millions of people that are out there as adults that have suffered the consequences 317 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:18,000 of what they call extraction, retraction, regret and so it's a lot of the reason why 318 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:27,160 we are seeing people with cardiovascular disease, having strokes, diabetics, sleep 319 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:38,400 disorder breathing, the impact of not considering airway in how we take care of children has 320 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:47,080 had a global impact and so that's part of the retraining for hygienists. 321 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:55,680 I shouldn't say retraining, it's more of a shift to a healthier way so we've got a lot 322 00:27:55,680 --> 00:28:03,920 of children worldwide that we need to impact and we also have millions of people worldwide 323 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:10,040 that have been a product of the extraction, retraction, regret syndrome and are suffering 324 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:11,720 the consequences. 325 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,880 We don't want our little ones to go through. 326 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:20,200 To do the same suffering the consequences and impacting the healthcare system because 327 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,320 now we're all adults walking around with all of this. 328 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:36,280 Yes, yes, yes and as you get older and older the more these consequences pop up in our 329 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:37,280 life. 330 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:42,080 Right, in ways that you just can't even see coming. 331 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:50,920 Yes, yes, so it's an opportunity to have an impact, it's an opportunity to do good, it's 332 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:57,000 an opportunity just to give back. 333 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:05,760 My whole goal is I don't want to leave this earth with any arrows left in my quiver unshared. 334 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:14,320 I feel that a lot of my philosophy of care and how I take care of patients has been a 335 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:26,320 gift to me and it's my responsibility to share these gifts that I've been given and so that's 336 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:36,080 what I want to do is I want to shoot every arrow in my quiver and have them have an opportunity 337 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,160 to be used by others. 338 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:45,560 I absolutely love that and I know that along with Children's Airway First and the Lifeguard 339 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:49,840 Initiative you've also worked with some other groups that are very near and dear to your 340 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:53,920 heart including the Oral Cancer Foundation. 341 00:29:53,920 --> 00:30:01,880 Absolutely, my first patient in clinic in hygiene school was my husband's grandfather 342 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:08,480 and I found a lesion in his mouth that turned out to be oral cancer. 343 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:17,400 So, you know, I am so grateful that I've had the gifts of having, you know, shoot some 344 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:25,680 bubble gum in the pool and blew a bubble of having my husband's grandfather sit in my 345 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,200 chair as my first patient. 346 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:37,600 What that's such a gift to be able to take those experiences and say, you know what, 347 00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:41,840 there are other people out there, everyone has somebody they love and care about just 348 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:44,880 like I love to care about his grandfather. 349 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:52,000 So I made it my goal in hygiene school after that that I was always going to do an oral 350 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:58,440 cancer screening on every patient every time and I can honestly say I have lived up to 351 00:30:58,440 --> 00:31:02,400 that in 40 some years worth of hygiene. 352 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:10,480 And I think that the whole backstory to the Lifeguard Initiative is guarding and guiding 353 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:11,480 patients' health. 354 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:17,800 And what I mean by that is when you get your patients living in what I call the safety 355 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:25,120 zone where the immune system can manage the bacterial load and everything that's going 356 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:36,880 on in your mouth, it creates time in the appointment for you to do the things that are so important 357 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:45,800 and those are the life saving screenings and you'll find out when you help manage and help 358 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:52,560 your patients create a healthy biofilm, they're going to come back to see you healthy. 359 00:31:52,560 --> 00:32:04,920 So a lot of the reason why I was so inspired and enthused at the time that I retired is 360 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:11,080 that my patients started coming back to see me healthy when I started this. 361 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:13,280 I no longer saw Tartar. 362 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:14,280 Really? 363 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:19,200 Like your biofilm or their plaque was healthy. 364 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:27,600 Yeah, it's just amazing when you manage the patient's biofilm and create health in that 365 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:35,040 biofilm and create an urgency and a need for the patient to understand that they need to 366 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:38,240 come back to see me while they're still healthy. 367 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:44,600 So I can do whatever it takes to get them back at the beginning of that safety zone. 368 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,240 See most patients come to see you. 369 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,840 Oh, when their gums start to bleed. 370 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,800 You know, you ask the patient, how come you're here to see me today? 371 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:58,200 Well, my gums started to itch and they started to bleed, so I thought maybe it's time to 372 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:00,480 come back and see you. 373 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:01,480 Uh-uh. 374 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:02,480 Right. 375 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:11,200 That's a patient living in the danger zone and when you go along with that by not asking 376 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:16,720 some important questions, you're literally participating in their disease process. 377 00:33:16,720 --> 00:33:21,160 And that is about all I knew at the time. 378 00:33:21,160 --> 00:33:29,200 But now I know about their health process and what it takes to keep them in this safety 379 00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:30,200 zone. 380 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:32,200 Well, not just their health process. 381 00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:36,960 You also know a little bit about this relationship, you know, a little bit about them personally. 382 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:41,880 So why is it that they don't come back except for when they're in pain? 383 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,720 Because you know more about them as a person. 384 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,440 Is it they just they're afraid of the dentist? 385 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:50,160 Is it a financial thing? 386 00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,440 Is it you know a little bit more about them? 387 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:54,440 Yes. 388 00:33:54,440 --> 00:34:00,800 The relationship rules, the quality of care. 389 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:09,840 And I think that is, you know, I just recently wrote an article with CAF. 390 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:19,400 And the thing that I also believe is you've got to who you're going to be for your patient, 391 00:34:19,400 --> 00:34:25,760 like make the decision to redefine yourself, step into a new pair of shoes. 392 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:28,040 I decided I'm going to become a lifeguard. 393 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:31,760 I'm going to help guard and guide my patient's life. 394 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:37,600 And when you do that, that's what determines what you're going to do. 395 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:42,320 Who you're going to be determines what you're going to do. 396 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:49,360 And that's part of what we help shift in hygienists is that right now, most hygienists are just 397 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:56,640 thinking about what am I going to do to the patient without giving consideration to. 398 00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:05,160 I'm going to be that hygienist that has made the decision to be a lifeguard, and I'm going 399 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:08,840 to guide the health and wellness of my patients. 400 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:18,160 And so this type of transformational approach, it creates time in the appointment to do these 401 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:23,480 life saving screenings that match the science that we know today. 402 00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:27,440 You need to do an oral cancer screening. 403 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:33,480 Rarely is that done by hygienists in the mainstream. 404 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:40,520 You got to take blood pressures because there's lots of reasons why people have high blood 405 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:45,480 pressure, sleep, diabetes, cardiovascular disease. 406 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,800 And so take blood pressures. 407 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:58,440 I do a screening that is used a product called Carey Free, and it helped me determine the 408 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,960 pH of the biofilm. 409 00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:06,840 And when the pH of the biofilm is low, that's when cavities occur. 410 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:13,800 And it also made a huge impact on the periodontal health of patients. 411 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:22,840 When we got them using this Carey Free, it helped manage and balance the pH. 412 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:30,680 And so these are just all ways to help your patients create a healthy biofilm. 413 00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:36,480 I did oral DNA testing, which we had. 414 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:38,800 What's that? 415 00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:47,840 Your biofilm, or what we used to call plaque, is made up primarily of probably 700 different 416 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:50,440 species of bacteria. 417 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:53,360 And there's viruses and fungi. 418 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:55,680 There can be parasites in there. 419 00:36:55,680 --> 00:37:07,800 So we did a swish test that would identify the high risk pathogens. 420 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:14,520 There's five or six of them that are causing all the problems in the mouth and in the body 421 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:16,440 with periodontal disease. 422 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:23,440 And now it's now one of them is linked to certain cancers in the body. 423 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:30,760 One of them is linked to now, linked to Alzheimer's disease. 424 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:32,920 There's some that are linked to periodontal disease. 425 00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:38,560 I mean, it just goes on and on about what they're learning about these high risk pathogens. 426 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:43,520 And so in order to create a healthy biofilm, we had to create a way to get rid of these 427 00:37:43,520 --> 00:37:45,720 high risk pathogens. 428 00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:50,400 So all this stuff is really important. 429 00:37:50,400 --> 00:38:02,120 And you have to create time in your appointment to be able to do whatever life-saving screenings 430 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:03,120 you can. 431 00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:08,240 And those are what, in the Lifeguard Initiative, those life-saving screenings are what I call 432 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:10,000 lifelines. 433 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:16,280 They connect you to your patient, and that connects your patient to their health span. 434 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:22,520 And these lifelines, the other one that I've learned from working with you is just talking 435 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:25,280 to them, especially if it's a child. 436 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:32,160 As you talk to the mother and you find out, pardon me, about how do they have ADHD? 437 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:35,600 Because that's a sign of potentially an airway issue. 438 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:36,600 What are they eating? 439 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:37,600 How are they sleeping? 440 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:40,880 But as you're speaking to the parent, you're watching the child. 441 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,320 You can see how they're behaving. 442 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:45,560 You can watch how they're breathing. 443 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:46,560 Yes. 444 00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:47,560 Yes. 445 00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:48,560 Absolutely. 446 00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:59,400 And I had a patient one time that the parents alternated nights sleeping with their child 447 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:07,920 because they had to sleep with her because she woke up so many times during the night 448 00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:11,320 that she was frightened. 449 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:12,960 She was little. 450 00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:15,360 She was maybe five years old. 451 00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:19,320 And so the only way they could soothe her and help her get back to sleep was if one of 452 00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:21,040 them was there. 453 00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:26,720 And so we suggested, we have some things we're concerned about. 454 00:39:26,720 --> 00:39:31,560 We'd like you to see her pediatrician. 455 00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:39,840 The pediatrician said, oh, her problem is just that she has so much stress in her life. 456 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:45,200 And the mom said, stress, my daughter leads a charmed life. 457 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:46,560 She has no stress. 458 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:55,880 We work very hard on diminishing stress in our child's lives. 459 00:39:55,880 --> 00:40:04,000 So she just took that and she said, no, I'm not taking that. 460 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,320 So she ended up switching pediatricians. 461 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:12,760 She walked out the door and found another one and come to find out when she went to see 462 00:40:12,760 --> 00:40:20,640 an airway physician that was focused on airway, her tonsils were touching. 463 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:25,520 And you can imagine the impact that that had on her. 464 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:34,720 Being able to get air and get oxygen in to feed her brain and her developing body and 465 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:38,520 it was just a mind boggling experience. 466 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:49,480 So all those things, in a relationship, you're able to talk about those things with the parent. 467 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:58,280 Being in a relationship with your patient or your child's parents, it's so important. 468 00:40:58,280 --> 00:40:59,280 So important. 469 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:02,520 It's absolutely incredible. 470 00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:09,400 As we wrap things up, if you could leave one message with the up and coming generation 471 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:13,760 of hygienists, what would you say? 472 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:20,280 Oh, boy. 473 00:41:20,280 --> 00:41:26,040 You know, I had the benefit of having a challenge given to me by Dr. McKay. 474 00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:32,600 And I don't think you have to have a challenge presented to you. 475 00:41:32,600 --> 00:41:34,720 You can present it to yourself. 476 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:43,040 And I think you just have to take the time and realize that there's got to be a better 477 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:44,040 way. 478 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:54,920 There's got to be a better way to match the protocols, your message and your mindset to 479 00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:56,960 what's happening in the world today. 480 00:41:56,960 --> 00:42:05,760 And that is we are losing patients right and left from very serious effects. 481 00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:13,040 And I think that I would tell them to pay attention to the life-saving screenings and 482 00:42:13,040 --> 00:42:17,280 the clinical evidence that they see on a patient. 483 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:25,200 Because if you're not paying attention to it, you are absolutely doing a disservice 484 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:32,760 to the patient and participating in their health or in their disease process and possibly 485 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:38,200 without your intervention, they could have a life altering event or even death. 486 00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:46,560 So really get in relationship with your patients, shift your mindset, shift your message. 487 00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:51,560 You know, brushing and flossing, asking the question, do you brush and floss isn't good 488 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:52,560 enough anymore? 489 00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:57,040 Because brushing and flossing won't keep your mouth healthy. 490 00:42:57,040 --> 00:43:03,800 So educate yourself as to what's going on and share that knowledge with your patients. 491 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,720 And decide who you want to be for your patients. 492 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:07,720 Absolutely. 493 00:43:07,720 --> 00:43:08,720 Who are you going to be? 494 00:43:08,720 --> 00:43:09,720 I love that. 495 00:43:09,720 --> 00:43:10,720 New fair shoes. 496 00:43:10,720 --> 00:43:13,400 I love that. 497 00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:18,520 And I just personally want to thank you for being a part of the advisory board for Children's 498 00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:24,440 Airway First and for allowing me to be a part of the Lifeguard Initiative and helping you 499 00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:27,200 to share your arrows of knowledge. 500 00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:28,760 It's truly an honor. 501 00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:29,760 Thank you so much. 502 00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:33,040 It's been a privilege and an honor for me to be here today. 503 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:34,880 So I appreciate it. 504 00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:35,880 Awesome. 505 00:43:35,880 --> 00:43:40,200 Thanks so much. 506 00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:44,440 Thanks again to today's cast, Chris Duvall, for sharing her medical insight and each of 507 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:47,640 you for listening to today's episode. 508 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:50,920 If you're new to our podcast, please don't forget to subscribe. 509 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:55,120 And if you enjoyed today's episode, please remember to leave us a review or a comment 510 00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:57,360 about what you enjoyed most. 511 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:01,400 You can stay connected with the Children's Airway First Foundation by following us on 512 00:44:01,400 --> 00:44:06,200 Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. 513 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:10,280 If you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming episode, shoot us a note via the contacts page 514 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:18,120 on our website or send us an email directly at info at childrensairwayfirst.org. 515 00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:21,840 And finally, thanks to all the parents and medical professionals out there that are 516 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:26,600 working to help make the lives of kids around the globe just a little bit better. 517 00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:50,600 Take care, stay safe, and happy breathing, everyone.