Your Airway: What Snoring and Mouth Breathing Reveal About Health - presented by Trisha O’Herir
(3 hours - 3CEU)
On Oct. 24, 2026 Trisha will be joined with special guest speaker Katrina Klien, RDH, CEAS, CPT
The Hand Bone'’s Connected to the Neck Bones: Scaling Meets Biomechanics presented by Katrina Klien, RDH, CEAS, CPT
(2 hours - 2 CEU)
5 CEU Live Interactive for $75!
Your Airway:
What Snoring and Mouth Breathing Reveal About Health
presented by Trisha O’Hehir
This course explores the often-overlooked consequences of mouth breathing and snoring, connecting these habits to broader oral-systemic health concerns. Participants will gain insight into how airway dysfunction affects inflammation, sleep quality, and disease progression. Through clinical examples and behavioral strategies, attendees will learn how to identify, educate, and support patients dealing with these issues.
Learning Objectives:
At the completion of this course, the participant will be able to:
Identify the oral and systemic health implications of chronic mouth breathing and snoring.
Explain the physiological mechanisms linking airway dysfunction to inflammation and disease.
Recognize clinical signs of compromised nasal breathing and its impact on oral health.
Develop strategies to educate patients and collaborate with interdisciplinary teams for airway-focused care.
The Hand Bone'’s Connected to the Neck Bones: Scaling Meets Biomechanics presented by Katrina Klien, RDH, CEAS, CPT
Course Description:
Even the sharpest instrument is only as effective as the clinician using it. This course explores the relationship between instrumentation, biomechanics, and clinical performance to help scale more efficiently with less physical strain. Participants will discover how instrument design, handle characteristics, pinch force, fulcrum stability, adaptation, patient positioning, and operator mechanics influence both calculus removal and clinician fatigue.
Learning Objectives:
Explain how instrument design characteristics, including handle diameter, texture, weight, blade geometry, and shank design, influence clinician biomechanics and scaling efficiency.
Identify the biomechanical factors that contribute to excessive pinch force, hand fatigue, and musculoskeletal strain during periodontal instrumentation.
Apply evidence-based principles of fulcrum selection, adaptation, patient positioning, and operator positioning to improve scaling precision and reduce physical workload.
Evaluate instrumentation strategies, including hand and powered instrumentation, that support effective biofilm and calculus removal while minimizing clinician fatigue.
