# Ep. 71, From Cavities to Airway: Why Pediatric Dentistry Can’t Ignore Sleep, Dr. Rafif Tayara

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/asap-pathway-the-podcast-6613127/ep-71-from-cavities-to-airway-why-pediatric-dentistry-can-t-ignore-sleep-dr-rafif-tayara
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/asap-pathway-the-podcast-6613127/ep-71-from-cavities-to-airway-why-pediatric-dentistry-can-t-ignore-sleep-dr-rafif-tayara.md
Podcast: [ASAP Pathway: THE PODCAST](https://stenobird.com/podcast/asap-pathway-the-podcast-6613127)
Published: 2026-02-02T15:04:38+00:00
Episode link: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/ep-71-from-cavities-to-airway-why-pediatric-dentistry-can-t-ignore-sleep-dr-rafif-tayara--69725857
Audio file: https://api.spreaker.com/download/episode/69725857/rafif_tayara_audio.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/asap-pathway-the-podcast-6613127/episodes/ep-71-from-cavities-to-airway-why-pediatric-dentistry-can-t-ignore-sleep-dr-rafif-tayara
Duration seconds: 3189

## Resource

🎙️Dr. Stacy welcomes pediatric dentist and airway-focused clinician Dr. Rafif Tayara to the ASAP Pathway Podcast for a global conversation on early interceptive care, pediatric sleep-breathing red flags, and why “just looking at teeth” misses the real root causes. Dr. Tayara shares how her career across Montreal, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Qatar led her to connect recurring childhood cavities to mouth breathing and low nighttime saliva—pushing her beyond traditional pediatric dentistry into airway, function, and sleep medicine (including training at Tufts University). They unpack why parents’ anxiety can transfer directly to kids in the dental chair, how behavior management affects early orthodontic access, and why multidisciplinary teamwork (ENT + dental + myofunctional therapy and more) is the only sustainable path. They also address the backlash that can come with changing paradigms, the logic behind orthodontics influencing airway, and why early expansion and functional re-education can reduce complexity later—sometimes making “Phase 2” minimal. The episode wraps with fun rapid-fire questions, including a Tiësto concert night in Dubai and a bold Bangkok food moment. IG: Dr. Rafif Tayara IG: Junior Dental Junior Dental Website Dr. Tayara’s Book: Danny and Sarah Go to Dr Smile 🕰️ Chapters: 02:04 — “Danny and Sarah Go to Dr. Smile” 03:06 — Where to find the book + why she wrote it (fear-free first visits) 06:30 — “Kids borrow a parent’s mental health” in the dental chair 09:58 — Why kids behave differently when the parent steps out 11:38 — Dubai context + her career path and opening her clinic 14:15 — The cavity relapse problem: mouth breathing, saliva, and nighttime risk 16:10 — Airway + function journey: tongue posture, swallow, palate, adenoids 20:06 — Social media back…

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