Ep. 14 | TMJ / TMD: The Real Drivers Behind Jaw Pain and Dysfunction

Ep. 14 | TMJ / TMD: The Real Drivers Behind Jaw Pain and Dysfunction

You don't have "TMJ" — you have two of them, and everybody does. What you might have is TMD, and it's not one condition, it's dozens. In this episode, Dr. Ellie Campbell, DO and Dr. Kathleen Carson, DDS explore why jaw pain gets treated with a one-size-fits-all approach (stress! night guards! Botox!) when the real cause could be coming from your airway, your hormones, or a connective tissue condition you've never heard of. They break down how to figure out what's actually driving your symptoms. What you'll learn: * Why "TMJ" just means the joint — and TMD is the actual disorder, with dozens of possible causes * How to spot the difference between a muscle problem and a joint problem in your own jaw * The airway-jaw connection: why clenching and grinding can be a "check engine light" for sleep breathing issues * Why women get TMD at much higher rates than men, and what hormones have to do with it * How PMOS (formerly PCOS) and hypermobility disorders like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome show up as jaw pain * Why the wrong night guard or appliance can actually make your symptoms worse https://sleepsexandsenility.com #sleepsexandsenility #oralsystemichealth Disclaimer Sleep, Sex & Senility is produced for informational and educational purposes only. The content shared by Dr. Ellie Campbell and Dr. Kathleen Carson is not intended to constitute medical or dental advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast does not create a physician-patient or dentist-patient relationship. Always seek the guidance of your physician, dentist, or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical or dental condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast. The views expressed are those of the hosts and do not represent any institution or organization. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ep. 13 | Why Flossing Disappeared From Federal Health Guidelines

Your dentist has told you to floss more your whole life — but the science behind that advice is shakier than you think, and in 2015 the government quietly agreed. In this episode, Dr. Ellie Campbell, DO and Dr. Kathleen Carson, DDS discuss why "just floss more" may be the wrong advice for most people, and what actually matters instead: reducing inflammation between your teeth. They break down what happened when journalists demanded evidence for flossing's inclusion in U.S. dietary guidelines, and why the real fix is often a different tool entirely. Topic highlights: * Why flossing was removed from the federal dietary guidelines in 2015 — and what that does (and doesn't) mean * The real goal isn't flossing, it's reducing inflammation between your teeth * Why "supervised flossing" works but flossing on your own often doesn't * When interdental brushes and water flossers outperform floss (tight vs. wide spaces, implants, gum recession, dry mouth) * The mouth bacteria linked to Alzheimer's, and what actually reduces that risk * Why Teflon-coated "glide" floss may expose you to PFAS forever chemicals Learn more: https://sleepsexandsenility.com [https://sleepsexandsenility.com] Disclaimer Sleep, Sex & Senility is produced for informational and educational purposes only. The content shared by Dr. Ellie Campbell and Dr. Kathleen Carson is not intended to constitute medical or dental advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast does not create a physician-patient or dentist-patient relationship. Always seek the guidance of your physician, dentist, or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical or dental condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast. The views expressed are those of the hosts and do not represent any institution or organization. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ep. 12 | Preconception Health: How Sleep, Gum Disease & Hormones Affect Fertility

Fertility doesn't begin with a positive test — it begins months, sometimes years earlier, in places nobody's looking. This episode reframes fertility as a whole-body health issue, not just a reproductive one. In this episode, Dr. Ellie Campbell, DO and Dr. Kathleen Carson, DDS discuss why inflammation — including inflammation in your mouth — plays a bigger role in fertility than most couples realize. They dig into the recent renaming of PCOS to PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome), why that name change matters, and why fertility planning needs to include both partners, not just the woman. You'll hear about: * Why experts just renamed PCOS to PMOS, and what that reveals about the real root causes * How poor sleep worsens insulin resistance, which worsens hormone dysfunction, which affects ovulation * Why male fertility factors — including a 50% drop in global sperm counts over 40 years — are consistently left out of the conversation * How gum disease and oral inflammation connect to the same inflammatory pathways affecting fertility * What a comprehensive preconception health evaluation actually looks like for both partners * Why vitamin D, magnesium, and progesterone levels matter as much as anything happening in the ovaries * Learn more: https://sleepsexandsenility.com [https://sleepsexandsenility.com/] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fTicAMtqFMk [https://youtu.be/fTicAMtqFMk] Disclaimer Sleep, Sex & Senility is produced for informational and educational purposes only. The content shared by Dr. Ellie Campbell and Dr. Kathleen Carson is not intended to constitute medical or dental advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast does not create a physician-patient or dentist-patient relationship. Always seek the guidance of your physician, dentist, or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical or dental condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast. The views expressed are those of the hosts and do not represent any institution or organization. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ep. 11 | PCOS Is Now PMOS — And the Difference Could Save Your Life

A medical diagnosis affecting millions of women just got a new name — and the change isn't just semantic. It could reshape how this condition is treated and how early the warning signs get caught. In this episode, Dr. Ellie Campbell, DO and Dr. Kathleen Carson, DDS discuss the landmark 2026 renaming of PCOS to PMOS — Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome — and what this shift means for women, their doctors, and their dentists. Dr. Campbell shares the deeply personal story of her college friend Nancy, who died prematurely from liver failure caused by unmanaged PCOS complications. Dr. Carson explains how some of the earliest clues of this condition show up not in an endocrinologist's office, but in the mouth. In this episode, you'll hear about: * Why the old name PCOS was misleading — and how many women with this condition don't even have ovarian cysts * The two-way connection between gum disease and insulin resistance, and why your dentist may catch it before your doctor does * How sleep apnea and PMOS fuel each other in a vicious metabolic cycle — and how fixing your airway can help with weight loss without changing anything else * The under-discussed liver disease risk in PMOS, and the story of one woman who paid the ultimate price for it going undetected * Simple strategies to reduce blood sugar spikes: the 10-minute post-meal walk, eating fiber first, and what your HbA1c is telling you before you're officially pre-diabetic * What weight loss medications like tirzepatide (ZepBound) can — and can't — do for PMOS, and why oral health still needs to be part of the picture https://sleepsexandsenility.com [https://sleepsexandsenility.com] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FcQgLYmGULs [https://youtu.be/FcQgLYmGULs] Disclaimer Sleep, Sex & Senility is produced for informational and educational purposes only. The content shared by Dr. Ellie Campbell and Dr. Kathleen Carson is not intended to constitute medical or dental advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast does not create a physician-patient or dentist-patient relationship. Always seek the guidance of your physician, dentist, or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical or dental condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast. The views expressed are those of the hosts and do not represent any institution or organization. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Ep. 10 | Why You Can't Breathe Through Your Nose (And What to Actually Do About It)

You've been told to breathe through your nose. But what if you genuinely can't? Drs. Campbell and Carson have an answer — and it's not "try harder." In this episode, Dr. Ellie Campbell, DO and Dr. Kathleen Carson, DDS discuss why so many people struggle with nasal breathing and why that struggle is a signal worth listening to, not a character flaw. They break down the three root causes of chronic mouth breathing (inflammation, structure, and function), explain the vicious cycle that makes congestion self-perpetuating, and share a practical roadmap for reclaiming your nose — at any age. Listeners will learn: * Why chronic mouth breathing is almost always a compensation, not a bad habit * How congestion creates a feedback loop that makes nasal breathing progressively harder to restore * The surprising mold connection behind recurring sinus infections — and what a Mayo Clinic study found inside patients' sinuses * Why the tissues inside your nose (turbinates) can actually decondition from years of disuse, just like muscles * Why mouth taping is later in the conversation, not the first step — and what needs to happen first * Simple starting points: saline rinses, allergy testing, sublingual immunotherapy, nasal strips, and breathing retraining https://sleepsexandsenility.com [https://sleepsexandsenility.com] Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/viBFC6suyZc [https://youtu.be/viBFC6suyZc] Disclaimer Sleep, Sex & Senility is produced for informational and educational purposes only. The content shared by Dr. Ellie Campbell and Dr. Kathleen Carson is not intended to constitute medical or dental advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Listening to this podcast does not create a physician-patient or dentist-patient relationship. Always seek the guidance of your physician, dentist, or other qualified healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding a medical or dental condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you heard on this podcast. The views expressed are those of the hosts and do not represent any institution or organization. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.