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Dr. Park, the inventor of the risk-free, anti-snoring appliance PASA, was awarded by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute for the appliance’s excellence in 2022. Based in the city of Incheon, Dr. Park’s Ilmi Dental Clinic is well known for its distinct treatment of TMJ disorders and traumatic occlusion in addition to conventional dental treatment such as implants and prosthodontics.
Snoring and sleep apnea is a medical condition that severely affects one’s health over a long period of time. Research shows correlations between sleep apnea and chronic headache, fatigue, sleepiness, hypertension, and stroke. While over 25% of the world population suffers from this condition, the lack of awareness of its seriousness as well as the lack of an effective “gold standard” treatment method, raises a significant public health concern
PASA was invented by Dr. Park to help people suffering from snoring and sleep apnea. It is an innovative treatment modality for managing snoring and sleep apnea in the absence of an effective or convenient treatment. With its first prototype invented in 2013, the appliance has improved the quality of life of many patients.
From 35 years of experience in temporomandibular joint and occlusion clinical practice to a dentist specializing in dental sleep medicine
The invention of PASA was an incidental finding by Dr. Park. Earlier in his career as a dentist, there was an old male patient in his 80s who complained after getting his dentures fabricated. His complaint was that the dentures were not fitting well despite multiple adjustments. An x-ray imaging showing the patient’s entire head showed that the patient had a huge asymmetry between the left and right joints in the jaw. It was a moment of inspiration for Dr. Park, as he realized “a door with broken hinges cannot be fixed simply by replacing just the door.”
In the process of trying to correct this asymmetry with different types of oral splints, Dr. Park received feedback that snoring has disappeared. This unintentional “side effect” led Dr. Park to more research in the field of TMJ and occlusion during his personal time. After receiving the same feedback from multiple patients with similar cases, Dr. Park saw a pattern and decided to use this principle to develop a new product to help people suffering from snoring and sleep apnea.
As the product was first developed to manage people with TMJ problems, it was designed in a way to minimize strain in the joints of the jaw. In doing so, it virtually eliminated the potential side effects in long-term usage that were prevalent in other oral appliances at the time. Over the years, PASA has gained much popularity among patients with sleep apnea of all stages in Korea. Today, there are patients visiting from many countries around the world.
Eliminated side effects present in other oral appliances, effective in managing snoring, sleep apnea and dry mouth
Every anti-snoring oral appliance works by advancing the lower jaw forward, so the tongue connected to the lower jaw is also pushed along, preventing it from falling back to block the airway while sleeping. One advantage that PASA has over other treatment methods is that it is virtually side-effect free. One of PASA’s key design principles is allowing free movement of the lower jaw. This feature makes it extra comfortable and prevents the build-up of strain in joints that lead to long-term side effects. PASA is compact in size and is in one piece without any additional connecting components, therefore making it easier to clean and less likely to break.
“PASA would be a great treatment option who suffer from chronic oxygen deficiency due to sleep apnea, and those with a dry mouth or swollen neck from long-term mouth breathing,“ Dr. Park said.
About the author: Dr. Park has 35 years of clinical experience, specializing in treatment of snoring/sleep apnea, prosthodontics, implants, orthodontics, and occlusion. Over 10,000 patients with snoring problems have been treated.
