Dr. Leah Romay is a practitioner of Functional Dentistry, a more systemic, whole-body approach to your oral health. Functional Dentistry goes beyond typical dental care, taking into consideration the many factors impacting your oral health. These can include diet, lifestyle, airway health, and your unique oral microbiome. Together, these factors have a significant effect on how your oral health can be maintained, as well as risk factors that can affect you.
Using a Functional Dentistry approach, Dr. Romay works with patients on an individual basis to establish and maintain complete oral health that serves overall health and wellness. Through this diagnostic approach to your care, our team can help you to better understand your oral health and to find personalized solutions to concerns. We can offer nutritional guidance and work with you to discover the root cause of any chronic dental problems from decay to gum disease.
Oral Microbiome Analysis
The bacteria in our mouths can tell us a lot about how our oral health is functioning and provide clues to physical health, too. Dr. Romay provides microbiome testing for patients to delve deeper into their oral health and support more personalized dental care. Performed with ease either at home or in our office, microbiome testing is the foundation of the Functional Dentistry approach to caring for your smile.
Nutrition Guidance
What you eat plays a significant role in your oral and overall health. A diet high in added sugars, acidic foods, or highly processed carbs can directly impact your health in many ways. Your diet interacts with your unique microbiome and can affect your risk for oral health problems and other types of disease. Dr. Romay can offer guidance based on your microbiome testing, educating you on what particular foods contain vitamins and minerals important for supporting your health and wellness.
Airway Health
The structure and health of your airway can affect many aspects of your health and quality of life. Functional Dentistry incorporates airway health into your comprehensive dental care to support good sleep, effective breathing, and optimal systemic health. During your dental exams, Dr. Romay evaluates your airway and will ask questions about your quality of sleep. The airway can be compromised by your physical structure, specifically your bite and palate as well as neck circumference and soft tissues in the throat.
Patients with airway problems can experience sleep apnea, disordered sleep problems, and other symptoms affecting daily quality of life. Dr. Romay will also look for the oral signs of consistent mouth breathing, a symptom of airway issues. Persistent bad breath is a sign of mouth breathing and can also indicate a potential airway concern.