Dr Shahnaz Khan B.Ch.D

Dr Khan has been a dentist for over 26 years and is passionate about holistic and integrative aspect. She has seen many patients who mouth breathe, have crooked teeth, tongue thrusts, tongue and lip ties and overactive facial muscles. It wasn’t until she was introduced to Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy that she learned  that these weren’t due to “just genetics,” but that it was improper, unconscious habits that were creating these unfavourable traits. This led her to the field of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy. She pursued many courses related to this topic in the quest to find answers to her own kids dental and orthodontic issues. Since then,  she has been helping patients through proactive techniques that help develop and maintain correct resting tongue posture, nasal breathing, lip seal, and a correct swallowing pattern.

She is among the small percentage of dentists in South Africa  to become educated on the effects of an insufficient airway on our overall health. She  has committed to the continuing education necessary to be able to recognize airway insufficiencies, as well as to understand what that means in terms of not just oral health, but systemic health.

Looking beyond the teeth, to the nose, throat, muscles of the tongue, face, neck and beyond to the rest of the body. Left untreated, sleep disorders can cause or aggravate many serious health issues. She provides Airway centred services which can help treat snoring issues, sleep apnea, breathing problems that result from crowded teeth, tethered oral tissues (lip and tongue ties), difficulty sleeping, and more using a multi-disciplinary collaborative approach to patient care.

She is dedicated to educate herself, patients, the public and other health practitioners on the importance of the airway, why nasal breathing is so important and promoting interceptive orthodontics with intervention from as early birth.

Dr Khan envisions a future where no child will be denied the opportunity to reach his or her potential because of an unrecognized airway/sleep problem. For everyone, of any age, she envisions a future where the incidence of inflammatory and chronic illnesses falls, not rises hence starting this Society in order to network and educate patients and practitioners alike in the field of Airway Health.

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