coimbatore preventive pediatric dentist won international honor

“If your child is not getting good quality sleep, and psychological factors are ruled out, it is best to test whether there is a problem with the oral cavity,” says Dr. Shifa Shamsudin, who is the country’s first preventive He is one of the Pediatricians who have passed his board. American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine (ABSM) from Tufts University, Boston. “No one had realized that dentistry could even have a super specialty,” says Shifa, who treats children with SDB (sleep-disordered breathing). “The Pediatric Sleep Residency is an integrated program that includes study and practice. The curriculum is about how dentistry goes beyond filling, drilling and removing decayed teeth. Sleep problems in children like a slow epidemic Is.”

Shifa and her team at We Little Clinic in Coimbatore (now also in Chennai) have corrected the sleep issues of more than 7000 children worldwide with Myoline, a patented therapeutic protocol that involves re-training of breath, muscles and sleep. Includes exercises that help kids achieve naturally-aligned teeth. “Abroad, there are dentists and myotherapists. We have structured it in India in such a way that the dentist can help the patients with the exercise themselves. This treatment protocol has won the clinic, which completes 10 years, an International Award of Excellence (IAE), a UK-recognized award by the Royal College of Edinburgh. “The award includes clinics in the Euro Asia belt. The process was rapid, involving multiple visits by jury and a cautious approach,” says Shifa who is back in the city after receiving the award from the British High Commission in Chennai.

His Institute of Craniofacial Myology and Pediatric Sleep is a specialized body that trains professionals in Myoline and Pediatric Sleep, while Little V Line of Clinics has been opened in Karur which reaches out to Tier 3 and 4 cities.

She recalls that clearing ABSM was tough, as she had to go back and also study adult dentistry and practice for a specific period of time to clear the boards. “I accepted the challenge because a gold certificate gives me access to universities and research and ultimately a quality treatment with an intensive and advanced protocol.”

Shifa has been blogging and reaching out on social media about the connection between oral cavity and sleep problems for more than five years. As a pediatric dentist, she has observed jaw lines and less developed tongues that cause the airways to narrow. While earlier, these problems were thought to be only genetic, today, research says that many oral cavity problems in children are the result of poor lifestyle habits, such as bottle-feeding. “The mouth or oral cavity is a window to overall health,” she reiterates, adding that when the baby is not getting enough oxygen during sleep, the tissues, including the brain, do not get enough rest. As a result, the child becomes lethargic during the day.

She adds that breastfeeding lays the foundation for the development of a well-defined face and jaw. “Comparative study of the skulls of pre-historic humans and modern humans shows formerly well-developed U-shaped jaws. In order for the jaws to evolve, the architect is the tongue and it has to move upwards which naturally occurs in the breastbone. happens from.”

Dentists are aware that a condition called malalignment (misalignment) of teeth in children is a symptom that something is not working in harmony. When the child turned 14, it was mechanically fixed with braces, but now it can be dealt with much earlier. “While dental sleep medication is popular in the West, in India many cases go undiagnosed and such children are often labeled as having ADHD with behavioral and learning issues. We started Myoline to help kids get their teeth straight. But the parent’s feedback that the child’s snoring stopped, improved sleep and did even better in school gave us a big boost to learn more. We worked backwards to sensitize families and ensure that their child grows up cavity-free, free of crooked teeth and without any sleep problems. Our focus is on prevention and this is what families want. Parents of a five-day-old baby born during the onset of COVID-19 traveled 18 hours from Hyderabad to get treatment for slew of teeth. It’s not enough that the baby sleeps for eight or 10 hours, it’s the quality, deep sleep that matters. ,

“Around the world, leaders in the US, Australia, UK and Singapore are constantly talking about how sleep quality is improving in children. It is not enough that a child sleeps eight or 10 hours, Quality, deep sleep matters.”