Dr. Stephanie Kinsey, jaw development orthodontics

Stephanie Kinsey, DDS, owner and founder of Palencia Dental in St. Augustine, Fla., now offers an alternative to surgery for sleep deprived and sleep apnea patients with the science of jaw development orthodontics. As a Fellow from LVI Global, Dr. Kinsey has completed a series of studies on the clinical skills and knowledge necessary to provide comprehensive procedures and treatments for dental patients.

Trending now in the local practice, male and female patients ranging from 45 to 65-years old plus, are exhibiting changes in their structural jaw development with form and functionality based on genetics, age, environment, and lifestyles, to name a few. While many of Dr. Kinsey’s local patients are now showing an increased interest in improving immediate and emergency dental health issues and conditions, they also want to create a new and beautiful smile. However, many times Dr. Kinsey will first recommend corrective procedures to support the goals of her patients who desire positive, lifelong dental health and an improved appearance. Patient concerns about dental health and appearance also include sleep problems due to a longtime need for jaw correction.

According to Dr. Kinsey, facial structure and how we develop can contribute to sleep problems and it’s not necessarily attributed to our genetic code, but an intangible expression of a template and its unique interaction with how we function, plus our internal environment. “We are born as nasal breathers which enables the highly orchestrated muscular actions beginning with breastfeeding and then develops into complex nose and mouth breathing,” she said. “As we age, soft tissue signaling initiates the stimulus for optimum jaw development, out from under the cranium. It is an interesting interplay that function develops the structure and the structure supports the function,” she said. “However, the complex nature of the relationships between the head, neck, jaw, face and airway can mean that even small transitions away from expected soft tissue signaling can mark the beginning of a divergence from normal genetically encoded growth and development, especially as we age.”

Dr. Kinsey added, prolonged compromised adaptation away from physiologic norms can result in maladaptation like poor sleep habits, smoking, and diet, among others. These and structural failures can be complex in the nasal area, jaws, face, posture and airways resulting in the potential for lifelong stress, illness and disease along with sleep disordered breathing. “As clinicians, we have a very serious role to play in the prevention of these anomalies. Crooked teeth are the least of our worries. We have to recognize, educate, train, and intercept very early,” she said. “Ultimately, we simply get to a point where we stop growing and so does our mouth, and that can mean the need for advanced orthopedic orthodontic tools that can develop jaws to an optimal size, shape and position, at any age.”

Using the science of jaw development orthodontics, Dr. Kinsey creates jaws with more than enough room to house all the permanent teeth, bringing them out from under the cranium where they belong, and leaving an airway less susceptible to collapse during sleep. “The tools we use create a 'micro-trauma', and this along with a change in function stimulate the body to respond and lay down new bone. It’s a physiological process, not a mechanical one. It steps away from traditional orthodontic, mechanically -based thinking to an understanding and working alongside physiology to create organic change,” she said. “It is a major paradigm shift and may well hold the key to true health and longevity.”

Dr. Kinsey can typically correct the jaw and improve the sleep malady approximately 10 months into treatment while stimulating new bone to form, bringing the jaws out from under the cranium, where they belong and optimizing the airway to reduce the impact from sleep disordered breathing. With Dr. Kinsey’s LVI training in physiologic -based dentistry, jaw development can adjust the airway and improve the conditions of sleep apnea without surgical intervention.

Dr. Kinsey is a Fellow with The International Association of Physiologic Aesthetics (IAPA) and serves as a member and Fellow with IAPA’s founding organization, the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI). She specializes in cosmetic, temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ), and general dentistry, and is dedicated to restoring and enhancing the natural beauty of one’s smile by combining conservative and state-of-the-art procedures along with advanced dental medicine. Dr. Kinsey graduated with honors in 1994 from the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver, Colorado. She was accepted into a General Practice Residency in Chicago, Illinois at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center where she was invited to stay a second year and serve as chief resident.

Palencia Dental is located at 159 Palencia Village Dr. Suites 107-109 in St. Augustine, Fla. Summer practice hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 am until 4 pm, and Friday from 8 am until 1 pm. For more information, call +1 904-204-1260.. Visit the website at www.palenciadental.com.