{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The DOC Podcast","title":"Rethinking When, Why, & How We Treat Patients (w/Dr. Mike DePascale) [Ep.157]","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":5358,"description":"Episode Summary\n\nDr. Mike DePascale is a Connecticut-based orthodontist and co-owner of a multi-location practice with his partner and mentor, Dr. Jeff Kozlowski. In this episode, Dr. DePascale shares his remarkable personal journey from suffering severe obstructive sleep apnea in his early 20s and undergoing orthognathic surgery to becoming a passionate advocate for airway-focused, early-interceptive orthodontic care. The conversation covers the philosophy behind their thriving partnership, why airway is still woefully undertaught in residency programs, how to practically integrate early airway-focused treatment into a busy practice, the critical role of interdisciplinary collaboration, and what it takes to maintain peak fitness while building a career and a family. This is a conversation about so much more than teeth, it's about breathing, thriving, and never settling.\nTimestamps0:00 — Introduction to The DOC Podcast and Dr. Mike DePascale\n10:57 — Dr. DePascale's origin story: cold-calling medical offices to find his path\n12:30 — Diagnosed with severe sleep apnea in his 20s: 3 car accidents, 2–4 hours of sleep a night\n15:30 — Choosing orthognathic surgery over CPAP — and how it saved his life\n19:00 — Finding Dr. Jeff Kozlowski: choosing mentorship over immediate money\n24:00 — What makes a practice partnership actually work: communication, consistency, and commitment\n33:00 — Residency training: what it prepared him for — and what it didn't\n38:00 — Why airway is barely taught in orthodontic residencies (and what needs to change)\n45:00 — The 1968 Salzman Index, Medicaid, and how the system trains orthodontists to pull teeth instead of treat early\n53:00 — How to practically integrate airway screening into a busy multi-doc practice\n58:00 — Team training, sleep questionnaires, and the power of interdisciplinary referral networks\n63:00 — The emotional reality: a mom crying after finally hearing \"tongue tie\" for the first time after 5 specialists\n68:00 — How early is...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/Wf6VIMhB_ulpfJzsJlix0BOF0i4W9yk8xxJ6-5X1Y6E/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzQxOTI3LzE2OTg2/MzExNDktYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}