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Emma Cooksey

Episode 115 - Emma at the Collaboration Cures Conference 2023

1:06

Hey there, it's Emma Cooksey here and I'm your host.

1:09

So right now I'm kind of comically wedged between some boxes in my closet where I record the podcast because we've been doing some painting today and I just like dumped all the boxes from the bedroom and bathroom into the closet.

1:26

And now I'm like, oh, I need to record something and I'm like, I have nowhere to sit and it will just have to do.

So this last week was so busy for me.

I flew up to New York and I did a project sleep event last Wednesday, which went really, really well.

1:48

And it was really an event for journalists, so particularly people that write about health and write about sleep.

And we wanted to do an event where they heard directly from patients about their own experiences.

2:05

And Project SLEEP had also put together a toolkit with a lot of information for journalists who want to write about sleep and sleep disorders, just to make sure they have accurate information.

Because I think there's so much awareness to raise about not only sleep apnea but like all sleep disorders.

2:27

So it was an opportunity for me to share my story about living with sleep apnea.

And there was somebody talking about insomnia and another person talking about restless leg syndrome and another person talking about narcolepsy.

And then there was like a sort of panel discussion and the the whole event just went really, really well.

2:48

And so that was great.

And then I flew to Orlando to go to the Collaboration Cures conference, which is run by the a APMD.

And I definitely always feel like the odd one.

I, as a patient and a podcaster going to like professional conferences with a lot of dentists and doctors and different people.

3:11

But I think it's really helpful because I think it gives some insight into, you know, hopefully like newer treatment options and you know, some products that are coming along that can help people with sleep apnea.

And I just like to hear, you know, what the latest is.

3:29

So that was a really good experience.

And today's episode is a little different from usual, because I basically went and interviewed a whole bunch of people that I find there.

And so there's just a lot of different short interviews with people at the conference.

3:48

So word of warning though, that there was a lot of background noise.

I was trying out some new lapel mics, which kind of works, but there's a bit of imbalance, you know, like the sound was a bit difficult to edit.

4:06

So apologies in advance if there's a little, you know, uppity with the sign.

And the other thing was that my lapel Mike's actually run out of battery halfway through my conversation with Doctor Steve Carsonson, which was really annoying and disappointing because we had such a great discussion.

4:30

And but fortunately I did interview Steve for the podcast, so there's going to be a full 45 minute and or probably more than an hour actually.

We talked for a long time And so that's coming up on the podcast soon.

And so you might just be like, oh, it feels like, you know, Steve got cut off before he could really say what you want to say.

4:53

So that was just all technical difficulties.

So sorry in advance about that.

I know I said on last week's podcast that you guys would be able to order my workbook on.

It's called the Six Week CPAP Solutions Workbook and it's going to be available really soon on Amazon like any day.

5:16

So I mentioned that I'm going to be offering some one-on-one zoom calls like kind of like have a coffee break with Emma kind of thing.

And I know a lot of you are always asking to pick my brain about various things and or you just want to have a chat or some people want to start a podcast or so whatever you want to talk about.

5:39

So I think the 1st 10 people to order my workbook I'm going to offer a 30 minute zoom chat with me.

And so if you want to be one of the 1st 10 people to order the workbook and get that, then the way to know about it first is to be on my e-mail list.

5:59

So in the show notes you can go to where it says join e-mail list.

Or you can just go to sleep apneastories.com and you scroll to the bottom of the page, put in your e-mail and you'll be on the e-mail list.

So that should be sometime in the next week I think.

6:15

And I'm just waiting for the all final e-mail from Amazon.

So without further ado, here are my conversations I had at the Collaboration Cures conference.

So I'm really excited to see ResMed here.

6:33

Yes, absolutely.

We're glad to be here.

Awesome.

So I just wanted to get a little bit of an update because a lot of people I've heard from were having the issues with their since 11 downloading data and like there was data missing.

So do you want to give us an update on that?

6:48

Yes, last month when it comes to patients that had the air since 11, there was a bug in the software whenever we did an over air update.

Did create some challenges with data retrieval for patients that are on the air.

Since 11 data was not lost, it just wasn't visible for certain patients.

7:04

That has since been resolved and there has no further problem, no further issues, nothing to see here.

Nothing to see here.

Temporary bump in the road, that's all.

So this is the first time I've seen ResMed at this collaboration cures event.

So you guys are, you know, I'm excited to see that as a CPAP manufacturer.

7:21

Absolutely, yeah.

We just wanted to make sure that CPAP.

You know, was was put out here on the stage within this community and that's something that we haven't attended before, but it's it's been great so far.

Yeah, that's awesome.

Well, thanks so much for talking to me.

Absolutely.

Thank you, no okay.

7:37

So do you want to introduce yourself?

I'm Steve Carstenson.

I'm a dentist in Seattle, WA.

But I also am chief dental editor of Dental Sleep Practice magazine.

For professionals, I trained dentists all over the world.

I work with the American Dental Association.

7:53

And I'm really passionate about getting people breathing better at night time from early ages on you.

Yeah.

So it's the early ages that are really wanting to ask you about it because I feel like so often I'm talking to patients right at the end of this journey.

So whether it's me or other people, you know, in their 40s and 50s, and really by that stage, a lot of people, especially if there's an element of this like, you know, their palate maybe didn't develop properly when they were a child or.

8:21

And there's just a lot of problems with children that we know in retrospect but we weren't able to catch early.

So what can we do?

And I guess what I want to know is like, partly what can we do to just catch that earlier in children to screen so that we're actually like, you know, gathering all the information from all the kids when they're small?

8:43

Yeah, we're at the ADA level.

I'm so proud of the ADA.

What they said the American dental.

System.

Thank you, American Association.

Yes, they said, well, what can we do about this?

And I helped convene a task force and conferences and up at the ADA headquarters.

8:59

And what they came up with is a brochure.

And actually my friend Galene Varga and I wrote up a brochure and they've been publishing it for years.

And the focus that we have for families is.

Does the child ever breathe through their mouth and do they make any breathing sounds really ever, but especially during sleep.

9:19

And if they ever breathe through their mouth now, if they're running around on a playground, we'll give them that.

But but especially while they're sleeping, they should never breathe through their mouth.

And like especially, you know, see, they're eating and they and they can't eat well because they're breathing through their mouth.

9:35

They're eating.

This is terrible from a lot of.

So good morning.

I'm here at the Replenish Stand.

I guess you would say at Collaboration cures.

Do you want to just introduce yourself and then we'll talk a little bit about your excitement?

Yes, absolutely.

9:50

My name is Molly Isham.

I'm on the sales and marketing team here with Remastered Sleep.

And we're so excited because here at Collaboration Cures, we are announcing our new Replenish Junior, which is our child product, yes.

10:06

We are saying at this point ages three to 10, but we're still kind of testing it out.

But that should be right around the age range, which people have been asking forever for a child version of our replenished nozzle.

10:23

So I've been using.

So for people who didn't get to listen to that episode of the podcast, they should go back and listen to it.

Because we did a whole episode all about the nozzle and how it came into being, how it helps with snoring and by strengthening your tongue and giving you exercises to do.

10:40

So is the idea really similar with the kids one?

Absolutely.

And the reason we are so excited about this child version is that the more children we can get this in the hands of, the better.

Because as we all know, if your tongue is in the right position, that aids growth and development.

10:58

If your tongue is up, then your palate is being expanded by your tongue and you are growing, and that's where we want it.

It's where we want it, and we want these kiddos to have the best chance while they're developing.

So the adults are kind of stuck with what they have, right?

11:13

When you're developed and your mouth is the shape it is.

Don't say that.

Well, I.

Mean.

Yeah, I know we can help.

You're right.

But.

Without more ortho and expansion and different things, you kind of have to work with what you've got.

And for kids, because they're still growing and developing, we have the opportunity by fixing their.

11:33

Function and their tongue strength to really impact that the trajectory of their growth and their airway development plus it's so easy because it's a watchable exactly so talus like are these actually available now?

I'm glad you asked.

So we are sort of in our prelaunch phase right now.

11:51

We should have the nozzles alone.

They will be available right now, first week of October.

Yeah, you could buy by itself and you can put it on any straw.

Reusable, you know, metal straw, plastic straw, whatever your kiddo wants to use.

12:08

And then the bottles with the nozzles, which I think most families are probably going to appreciate a little more, probably second-half of October.

So we're really close within a month.

Six weeks, yeah.

So we should be starting preorders.

Very soon.

12:23

We're doing them for healthcare providers now and then probably towards the end of the month we'll have it up on our website.

Well, thanks so much for telling me all about it.

Yes.

So remind everybody where they can find you guys.

We are remasteredsleep.com.

Okay.

And if you Google water bottle nozzle, right, right, right.

12:43

The only one.

Right, the only my own nozzle.

If you Google like water bottle for snoring or water bottle for airway, it'll come.

All right, great.

Well, thank you so much for taking the time.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Nice to see you.

Yeah.

So Dr. Pat McBride, welcome.

12:59

Hi, Emma.

Hi.

It's so good to see you in person.

Yeah, I know.

I feel like I've met you in person because I feel like you're just like buds, right?

We are buds for sure.

So we're here at the Collaboration Cures conference and you're involved with actually putting together the speakers for this event, right?

13:16

So can you tell us a little bit about who you're interested to listen to and speakers maybe you've already heard that you were really excited about?

Sure.

So collaboration here.

Since we've been doing this for 12 years now, we've there's a variety of different speakers.

There is across all the spectrums of medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, psychology, We have motivational speakers.

13:38

We also have speakers that will help you to integrate collaborative care into your practice.

That's kind of important people who have done it and have a pathway, but it's not necessarily your pathway but will allow you to.

Find a way that works for you, for the demographic you serve and all of that feeds into.

13:56

The premise behind all of this is for the Foundation for Airway Health, which has to do with having providing a website education access to care to everyone regardless of ability to pay.

Yeah.

The speakers that we have this year again run the entire gamut.

Some are more controversial than others, and that means we allow.

14:15

Everybody is seated at the table.

You choose, yeah.

So it really gives us a flavor of somewhat being out of pocket.

Yeah, In some respects and in other respects, it's very mainstream.

So if you choose to go down that track, you can, Yeah.

14:31

And there are other tracks for other things.

So I was really pleased to see that you have like an ENT speaking and dentists and malfunctional therapists and doctors and just people from all these different areas because I think for patients it can be really difficult to navigate airway issues, right?

14:50

Exactly.

And part of the beauty of our foundation, the way that we work for speakers, ENT speakers like Kevin Gersten who's here again speaking for us.

He spoke maybe four years ago.

He's doing, he's doing 2 lectures the all on five.

15:06

Taking two live patients from start to finish with five different providers, We had that yesterday all day long.

And I'm passionate to help other people understand where we're coming from because there's a lot of disconnects in many communities between the medicine, the dental, the PT, the myo.

15:22

And they can be very dismissive and coming from a huge healthcare system like he does, he gets it and so.

To have somebody like him and Dr. Padlano, who's now retired, he's also a very prominent ENT, could command thousands of dollars for, yeah, Peter's here just like Kevin and he's like, they're having a ball, yeah.

15:41

They're having a ball.

Everybody who's probably a new audience.

For them it's new.

Well, to some degree, yes, but both of them have done webinars for the AAPMD on Monday nights, so they have many many clicks.

After the fact, when people have a time to sit down, go through the library and start looking at things new members can join.

16:00

Like watch the videos from four years ago.

There's 200 or so up, so tell us for people listening that I've never heard of the AAPMD, tell us a little bit about your webinar series and where people can find that.

Sure.

So the AAPMD has a series of webinars.

16:17

Sometimes during the month there are Pediatrics.

It's called the Endeavor section that deals with the zero to 72 month old child.

Other times it had there's a PT on Wednesday nights.

My functional therapy.

We have a broad spectrum of medical and dental subjects that are on every other Monday night, and you've even included.

16:36

Me who was?

There was some patient perspective, right?

Which is?

Really great.

The most important piece of this because at the core.

Of our beliefs is that the patient is the center of the wheel.

Everything revolves around you.

And our ability to get you where you need to go.

16:54

And how we do that remains different for every single person.

There's no algorithm that fits everybody.

There's no algorithm for how to treat.

That's old school medicine.

Putting the patient in the center requires much more time, energy, and money from our end, but it's much more rewarding on the other end because the person you turn out.

17:13

It's going into a healthier and happier life.

Better results?

Much better results, much better results.

Well, thank you so much for taking time to talk to me.

Thank you.

So for people who aren't familiar, do you want to just introduce yourself and tell us about your company?

Sure.

So my name is Tom.

I am the brand and product manager for spot pal.

17:30

Spot Pal, Correct.

OK.

And tell us what that is for any of you listening that has no idea.

So we're a custom fit tongue training appliance designed to train the tongue where it should rest.

Up on the insides of Capella, So is that what we're calling the spots?

17:47

Yes, Okay.

That's like the fancy name for it, Okay.

So we've talked a lot about that on the podcast when we've had myofunctional therapists on.

So this appliance, like we've done loads of episodes on oral appliance therapy where it's like a mandibular advancement device.

18:04

But this is not that.

This is for kids to try and train them where their tongue should go without really trying to move their teeth or do anything like that, correct?

So.

It's a habit breaker.

It's also correcting the tongue posture, so we have little pokes that are sitting on the back of the teeth, on the aligner, on the appliance, and those pokes deter a tongue thrusting habit.

18:29

And it just sits on the top like it doesn't.

There's nothing on the bottom teeth, right?

It locks right into the top teeth, OK and so it gets fitted by a dentist or how do?

They do it so it can be 3D scan or impression kit.

So either or All right.

18:46

And so how do people find you if they're interested to learn more?

Sure.

The spot pal.com has all the information, so right on there it has all the resources.

So that's where you can order and find out more information.

All right.

Thanks so much for taking time to talk to me.

19:02

Yeah.

Thank you.

So do you want to start and just introduce yourselves?

Sure.

Sure.

Hi, I'm Sydney Avis.

I'm the executive director of the Airway Revolution Foundation.

And I'm Sydney's dad, Victor Avis, the general dentist in Staten Island, NY, and chairman of the board of the Airway Revolution Foundation.

19:22

And we're old friends, right?

Because you guys have been on the podcast way back in the.

Day way back.

We are Emma Cooksey fans and really what you're doing just to help educate lay people.

About airway disorders and sleep apnea and the vagaries of CPAP therapy and so many things that you've tried and are sharing and putting yourself out there and being so transparent is wonderful.

19:48

And vulnerable.

Well, thanks.

Not a small feat.

It's.

It's right.

It's quite a big job really, but you know we're doing it.

So last time we talked, I don't really know where we're up to.

Last time we talked we you were in the process of still filming and on that project and so do you want to give us an update on that?

20:09

Yeah.

So we are about 90% done with filming now.

Just a few more things to kind of, you know, fill in the gaps and you know, put a close on a few of the stories that we're following.

But we've already been moving into the post production part of the film.

20:26

We have a excited extended trailer coming out in the very near future.

So this is not just so when we talked on the podcast, we're talking a lot about your own Journey City, right?

So you actually have a bunch of other people.

And so it's completely shifted now where this project started and is very much my dad and I in my story.

20:46

That's not the case anymore.

You know, that's where it started, but it's expanded tremendously.

So we have stories for people dealing with similar things to me, different things for me, following their journeys, meeting with healthcare professionals who are experts in the airway field.

21:02

So there's a lot people weren't expecting, haven't seen yet.

So we're excited to.

Show that with everyone.

And so will it be like a limited series that you're going to be?

Doing, yeah.

So we're doing a documentary series that'll have three episodes.

That's kind of how we're editing, editing it.

21:20

Right now.

And so just because there's all sorts of people that listen to this podcast, do we need any help?

Like putting the word at about the film or the more people that are showing excitement, the more people who are interested.

Following us on our Instagram at the Airway Revolution.

21:35

It's helpful, especially when we go to distribution.

We're showing people want to see this, people need to hear this.

Yeah, the more follows, the more.

They really did for sure.

And then they you also kind of hinted that you had a relationship with Columbia University.

21:51

Am I right?

And then so tell us a little bit about that because I know that's probably a longer term project.

Yeah, we.

Recognize that with the documentary series we were going to create a tremendous awareness, but with that?

As you can imagine, we create a tremendous amount of frustration because people would be seeking Care now that they understood that they might have an airway disorder, and they would find many people in both the medical and dental field unaware of themselves and having no knowledge.

22:19

Completely untrained in it, right?

Untrained and dismissive and and not validating or affirming them in what might be truly the source of their health issues.

And so we recognized early on that the film could be both a great positive but also great negative.

22:37

So we've backed up the film or connected it to a much greater project which is to to be the the spearhead or the the force of change and in in in universities.

So that is not a university that's teaching as a core part of the curriculum that we we're aware of.

22:57

Airway disorders in the medical schools or dental school curriculum.

And so our arrangement with or partnership with Columbia University is to change that in both the medical and dental schools and also to develop the first multidisciplinary collaborative Center for airway disorders.

23:13

And so the the film will be backed up by an effort to change education and care, and we really believe that Columbia will just be.

The leaders and tipping point and that other schools will follow and soon that this will be part of every curriculum at every medical dental school.

23:33

And so that care that is now hard to find in the future will be much more available.

And then also we're involved with with even Project Sleep in terms of being on Capitol Hill and advocating for greater research dollars.

23:49

And so we are.

We know that more research needs to be done.

We need to come up with better diagnosis.

And.

And better technology and treatment.

Yeah, as you know.

So do you think that when you guys first started this whole endeavor, you realize like, how much of a kind of words you were opening you couldn't?

24:09

No.

I mean, I've been doing my podcast night for three years and when I first started.

I was going to do 10 episodes and just kind of see how we got on.

And then I feel like I felt I'm a rabbit hole.

And I like, you know, there's so many, there's it's just such a vast topic and there's so much to cover.

24:26

So it's great that you're looking at it from so many different angles.

Yeah, well, I think like you were inspired by the potential to help millions of.

People.

Millions of.

People, most of whom are completely unaware of what underlies their issues with focus attention, Anxiety, Depression, Diabetes.

24:43

Heart, yeah.

Dementia and these.

Kids are not to mention, horrible sleep, horrible sleep.

And not functioning.

So you know, that's what keeps, I'm sure, the three.

Of us going well.

Thank you so much for joining me.

I really appreciate it.

24:59

Thank you.

Great.

So do you want to just tell us your name and the company you're here with?

Sure.

I'm Mary Burke, and I'm the CEO of Maya Munchie.

And you came from Australia?

All the way from Australia.

I love it.

Yeah.

So I don't know a huge amount about my emergency.

We've talked a little bit on the podcast just because we had somebody who was using it as an adult.

25:20

Yeah.

And so can you just tell me like, I think I always thought it was just something for kids, but you have all different.

Images.

So could you kind of talk us through that a little?

Bit.

Can I tell you what it was originally invented for?

Yes, I would say that, OK, because that kind of tells us a little bit about the adults.

My dad was the inventor, a dentist in Australia, 19 sixties, 1960s.

25:39

It's been around a very long time.

He found the jawbone of an Indigenous Australian and what he found was that his bone was really well developed, really thickened.

Dense, and the teeth were still really firmly rooted into the bone, and he thought.

And no overcrowding, right?

No.

Overcrowding and he was interested in the work of Western A price, who had the dentist that looked at all the primitive cultures and how their jaws were beautifully formed and he thought.

26:02

Over.

There, and he thought, chewing.

So he developed this little product and it's got this little prongs on it and it massages the gums and the teeth.

Anyway, chewing is a movement that we all need to do, so it's a chewing device.

And so basically, when you chew the munchie, it produces lots of saliva.

26:18

Saliva is really good for cleansing your oral cavity.

And so that was originally what it was developed for, for adults, for chewing.

And we all need to choose.

So it's a great little tool for keeping your face functional and your jaws and also you swallow.

What he found over many years in his dental practice was back to children's facial development because it's great for keeping our faces functional, but actually what we really want to do is.

26:42

Grow as much as we can early on and you were just talking about all the issues you had as a child.

So this is fantastic little tool that you can use from six months of age.

For babies, The one for babies, Is that a new one?

So we developed that more recently over the last couple of years because I could see those problems were just there earlier.

27:02

So my dad died six years ago and I took the company on to bring it out into the world a bit more because it had been around for so long and.

He was just way ahead of his time.

No one really got what he was on about for the 1st 30 years.

Well before James Nester's book.

Yeah, but it's fantastic because that's James Nester's book sound.

27:20

Amazing job for helping the general public understand this.

And it's such a big thing.

So we've got lots of people now chewing because they understand the benefits of chewing.

That's how we grow our face.

Yeah.

So that's what we want to do, our face and jaws.

We need to choose our munchie.

It's like exercise the lips face and it's like going to the gym.

27:36

So 10 minutes chewing a day.

So people can actually just buy these online, can they?

They can.

OK, and so tell us about So the one for babies, you have to go to a practitioner, but the rest of them?

You can buy all that they can, but I do highly recommend they go and see a practitioner because if you've got a level of dysfunction and you can see it in your child or yourself, you're going to need some support to get the best outcome because it's.

27:59

It's a simple little tool and it's really powerful, but actually only when you really understand what you're trying to do.

Yeah.

So for parents with little children, it's great because they can use it with a two or three-year old just to get good chewing in there because most children's jaws are underdeveloped.

So that's just the reality.

28:15

And it's a great thing to swap for a pacifier.

Really good.

Get that sucking tool out of there, because it's no longer appropriate after six months to be.

So tell everybody where they can find you.

Okay, you can go to myomunchie.com, Myo MUNC, he.com, and I've put lots of educational resources on there so parents can learn and go on a journey and find out more about their child's development.

28:41

Well, thanks so much for talking to me and appreciate it.

Thanks for having me, Emma.

So Caitlin Trump, so good to see you.

So good to see you.

So for anybody that missed when Caitlin was on my podcast and she had the really difficult job of being my Maya functional therapist and and my friend.

29:01

So tell us a little bit about your journey since I last talked to you because I know you've been doing a lot of stuff to do with your own airway health and how you're sleeping.

Give us the update.

So.

Since.

I think we last talked we had ended where I had upper airway resistant syndrome, I finished my Vivos expansion and I got a good amount of lateral with I got just some growth.

29:28

So laterally but interior posterior, my growth wasn't as much as I would have liked, but again that's very hard in adults with just an appliance to get that forward growth.

So my sleep is still not great.

Definitely I have a lot more room for my tongue, which is great, but I'm still having a lot of awakenings per night and just not feeling rested.

29:51

I just went and had my in lab sleep study.

How does that go?

Well, it's.

Like a baby.

I slept the best I've slept in months.

I only woke up three times as opposed to like 6 to 9 * a night, which I blame on.

They just made the room too comfortable, so that was great.

30:09

I had a great night of sleep, but based on that they didn't think I had anything going on.

However.

I sent the raw data off to Ken Hooks because I trust him very, very much and he definitely saw some issues.

30:27

So my heart rate very unstable all through the whole night.

My deep sleep is only at 7% and I want that much much, much higher.

So we are going to see how I do with a mandibular advancement device and then maybe try some night lace on my soft palate.

30:48

So that's the lasering, yes, that's very interesting.

To kind of tighten soft palette and make sure that it's not hanging back into the airway.

So we'll try it, we'll see how it goes, but I am still on this journey with you.

Yes, yeah, we're all in it together.

31:03

And so tell me a little bit about the Collaboration Tourist conference we're at, things that you've seen that you liked or people you've met?

I actually this is my first one.

I love it so far.

It's really, really nice.

Lots of my functional therapy friends, right?

31:19

Lots of Internet friends who we chat with you daily, but we've never actually gone to meet in.

So that's really.

Cool, but it's really nice being surrounded by people who are like minded and understand the importance of airway.

And I feel unfortunately in the sleep world, not all the sleep doctors really get the airway piece of this.

31:41

So, and also being surrounded by people who understand what myofunctional therapy is and what your job is.

Yes.

Yeah.

No one looks at me like I have two heads when I say I'm a myofunctional therapist, so it's really, really refreshing to be here and even I've learned a lot in spaces that I don't necessarily treat in, but it's really been awesome learning about.

32:03

That's great.

Well, thank you so much for talking to me.

You're.

Welcome.


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