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Beyond the Jaw: Airway, TMD, Sleep, and Systemic Health
Join Dr. Brad Gilden, DPT, FAAOMPT, FFMT, PRC, CCTT, CSCS, for a live online webinar exploring how airway dysfunction may contribute to bruxism, TMJ disc displacement progression, and treatment resistance, and how physical therapists can incorporate airway screening and interdisciplinary collaboration into TMD management.
Thursday, October 22, 2026 | 7:30 PM EST
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Overview & Benefits
Physical therapists specializing in TMJ disorders are skilled at identifying and treating mechanical and
neuromuscular dysfunction. This talk adds a variable that most TMD training leaves out entirely: the airway. Rather than arguing that airway dysfunction drives TMJ pathology, this session places TMD as one of three interconnected spokes—alongside sleep-disordered breathing and systemic, all-cause mortality risk—radiating from a single hub: nasal breathing and airway function. The evidence linking airway
compromise to TMD is associational, not causal, and this talk treats it accordingly; the evidence linking
airway compromise to sleep and to long-term health outcomes is considerably stronger, and both the
confidence of the language and the time spent are calibrated to match. Anchored by a real clinical case that opens the session and resolves at its close, plus a pediatric case illustrating why early detection matters,
Attendees will learn a five-minute, no-equipment screening protocol—visual phenotype signs, the FAirEST 6, +4 instrument, STOP-Bang, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale—how myofunctional therapy fits into the PT scope of practice as a genuine but additional-training-required interdisciplinary pathway, and a practical nasopharyngeal-versus-oropharyngeal referral framework for collaborating with ENTs and dentists. The goal is not to convince TMD-focused PTs that airway causes their patients’ jaw pain—it’s to give them a defensible, evidence-calibrated reason to screen for it, and a clear next step regardless of how far they wantto take it
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Ryan Vaughn, MD
Founder & CEO, Exhale Sinus TMJ, Headache, and Sleep
Why This Topic Matters in Physical Therapy Practice
Many patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) continue to experience persistent symptoms, bruxism, recurrent joint dysfunction, or limited progress despite appropriate physical therapy interventions. One often-overlooked contributor is upper airway dysfunction, which may influence jaw position, muscle activity, sleep quality, and treatment outcomes.
For clinicians who evaluate and manage TMD, recognizing airway-related contributors is increasingly important because these factors can directly affect symptom persistence, treatment response, and long-term outcomes. Yet many rehabilitation professionals receive limited training in identifying potential airway compromise or understanding when referral to other providers may be warranted.
This webinar addresses the gap between traditional musculoskeletal TMD management and the identification of airway-related factors that may be driving or perpetuating a patient's presentation. Using practical screening principles and a detailed composite patient case, participants will explore how structural factors such as a high, narrow palate, tongue-tie, and septal deviation, along with neuromuscular compensations, can contribute to airway dysfunction and complicate TMD management.
By the end of the session, participants will be better prepared to recognize clinical signs of potential airway compromise, identify patients who may benefit from further airway evaluation, incorporate airway considerations into their TMD clinical reasoning, and effectively collaborate with dentists, otolaryngologists, and sleep medicine providers as part of a comprehensive care approach.
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Leslie Hovda, PT, DPT, OCS, SDN2, CCTT
Chair of Speaker Committee
Speaker Bio: Dr. Brad Gilden, DPT, FAAOMPT, FFMT, PRC, CCTT, CSCS
Training: Dr. Gilden is the founding member of EHS Physical Therapy and Wellness in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, co-founder of IPA Manhattan Physical Therapy in Midtown Manhattan, and co-founder of Kinetichain Integrated Manual Physical Therapy in Basalt, Colorado. He is founder of the LIV Institute, a postgraduate education organization dedicated to integrating manual therapy, breathing physiology, postural control, and sleep science.
Current role: Dr. Brad Gilden is a physical therapist with 26 years of clinical experience. He specializes in identifying airway dysfunction as a hidden driver of TMJ pathomechanics—recognizing why patients may plateau despite effective manual therapy, postural correction, and neuromuscular re-education. His clinical methodology combines Functional Manual Physical Therapy (FMT) certification and fellowship through the Institute of Physical Art (IPA) and the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy (AAOMPT), with Postural Restoration Certification (PRC). In 2024, he completed a 6-month intensive Integrative Breathing Training with Dr. Rosalba Courtney, DO, PhD, mastering a three-dimensional framework addressing the biomechanical, biochemical, and biopsychosocial dimensions of breathing dysfunction. His expertise lies in understanding when structural airway constraints and neuromuscular compensation patterns drive bruxism, disc displacement progression, and treatment resistance—and how to sequence interdisciplinary care to achieve durable outcomes.
Key Information
CEU Value: 1 CEUs
Format: On-Demand Webinar
Recording Access: Available immediately after purchase
Account Required: PTBCCT website account required
CCTT Member Price: Complimentary
Affiliates Price: $50
Non-Member Price: $75
Viewing Access: 6 months for non-members*
CEU Completion: Quiz required following the recording
How access works: Sign in or create a free PTBCCT website account, purchase the webinar access plan, and the recording will become available below on this page.
What You Will Learn
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Screen efficiently for airway dysfunction in TMD patients using a validated, evidence-based protocol—visual phenotype signs (scalloped tongue, Friedman tongue position, Mallampati score), the FAirEST 6+4 instrument, STOP-Bang, and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale—completed in under five minutes
with no additional equipment.
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Distinguish the strength of evidence across three airway-related domains—TMD (associational only), sleep-disordered breathing (a direct mechanistic link), and systemic and all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratios of 1.46–3.8 in large prospective cohort studies)—and calibrate clinical confidence and patient
communication accordingly.
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Apply a nasopharyngeal-versus-oropharyngeal referral framework to determine when to refer to ENT, dental-airway, or myofunctional therapy, and identify where physical therapy fits within a three-tier myofunctional therapy engagement model—from screen-and-refer through hands-on treatment—consistent with individual state scope-of-practice requirements.
FAQs on Beyond the Jaw: Airway, TMD, Sleep, & Systemic Health
