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
What is The DOC Podcast?
The DOC Podcast brings you unique educational content taught by Dr. Mike DeLuke, a Board Certified Orthodontist with over 20 years of clinical and academic experience. Dr. DeLuke built his orthodontic practice from scratch in the early 2000s and grew it into a multimillion-dollar enterprise in less than 10 years. He was able to retire from private practice at the age of 46 years old, and now devotes his energy to teaching his colleagues how to succeed both personally and professionally.
Dr. DeLuke has served as a faculty member at numerous hospitals and orthodontic residency programs around the country, including as the cleft craniofacial orthodontist at Albany Medical Center in New York, and as a clinical professor at The University of Connecticut in the Department of Orthodontics. He is presently an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University in the Department of Orthodontics.
The DOC Podcast will bring you in-depth discussions and interviews with industry leaders and experts on a variety of topics including clinical excellence, practice management, finance and wealth creation, health and wellness, taxes and accounting, fitness, and much more!