Airway health is not just about snoring or a sleep apnea score. In this conversation with lifestyle medicine physician Dr. Chang Ruan, we connect the skull, the brain and the airway in a way that reframes “mystery symptoms” like brain fog, anxiety, chronic pain and fatigue. The key idea is simple but disruptive: nasal breathing, sinus function and oral structure shape brain physiology every hour of the day. When nasal airflow is blocked by chronic sinusitis, enlarged turbinates or a deviated septum, the brain can lose access to adequate nitric oxide production, which influences oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange, vascular tone and cellular energy. That upstream bottleneck can ripple into dysautonomia-like symptoms, long COVID patterns and mood changes that often get treated as isolated diagnoses. Dr. Ruan also brings quantitative EEG brain mapping into the airway discussion. EEG is not new, but using qEEG patterns to translate “I feel off” into measurable signal changes creates a different kind of clinical clarity. He describes building a machine learning approach to recognize patterns tied to sleep-disordered breathing, narcolepsy and hypervigilance states, then tracking change before and after CPAP, BiPAP or oral appliance therapy. The value for complex cases is the ability to reduce guesswork and see whether the nervous system is shifting toward regulation. When patients report poor memory, ADHD-like symptoms, irritability or persistent fatigue, qEEG can help separate symptom labels from the physiology underneath, especially when airway obstruction, inflammation or chronic infections are quietly driving the signal. The “skull-brain connection” becomes concrete when we follow how structure influences function. Dr. Ruan explains how clenching and bruxism can lock down fascial chains and even restrict rib movement, making it harder to drop the diaphragm and fully breathe. He links forward head posture, chronic neck tenderness and even surprising pain patterns to compensation for airway stress. A major thread is the trigeminal nerve: sensory input from the face, the nasal mucosa and the bite feeds back into brain regulation, while the vagus nerve influences digestion, calm and the gut microbiome. When bite mechanics are off due to crossbite, crowding or extractions, the nervous system may struggle to “downshift,” contributing to IBS, reflux, mast cell type presentations or persistent sympathetic activation. This is also why tongue restriction matters so often, and why “tongue tie release fixes everything” is too simplistic without evaluating tongue volume, inflammation, connective tissue disorders and full airway anatomy. We also explore real-world complexity: mold exposure, volatile organic compounds, COVID-related mucosal thickening and the limits of popular lab tests. Dr. Ruan argues that the question is less “is mold present” and more “does your airway anatomy and resilience make you vulnerable,” pointing to imaging and neurophysiology rather than a single urine panel. He’s similarly skeptical of food sensitivity testing because sleep loss, stress, hydration and even humidity can swing results dramatically, pushing people into overly restrictive diets without addressing root causes like nasal obstruction, poor chewing and oral microbiome imbalance. The episode closes with a broader lens on generational trauma, epigenetics and why reframing blame can be part of healing, while still returning to basics: breathe through the nose, protect sleep, assess the airway and treat the whole system with an integrative, team-based approach. Support the showABOUT OUR HOST:Renata Nehme RDH, BSDH, COM® has been a Registered Dental Hygienist since 2010. In 2016, when she was introduced to the world of "Myofunctional Therapy" she immediately knew that was her calling, especially when she learned that it encapsulated many of her passions- breastfeeding, the import of early childhood development, and airway health. In 2021 Renata founded Airway Circle with the intention of creating a collaborative and multidisciplinary group of like-minded health professionals who share the same passion for learning and giving in the dental health and airway space. Myo Moves - Become a Patient: www.myo-moves.com ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________At Airway Circle we offer a safe and supportive space for like-minded professionals to connect, collaborate and share information regarding airway-related issues and whole-body health.Become a Member Today and have immediate access to hundreds of lectures with world-renowned professionals. ...

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related