
In this special episode of Functional Medicine with Dr. Howard Robins, guest Dr. Greg Vigoren, DDS explains the critical link between dental health, sleep quality, and longevity.Poor sleep — including fragmented or short sleep — can shorten both health span and lifespan by up to five decades. Chronic lack of sleep has been strongly linked to cognitive decline, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other degenerative diseases.Dr. Robins and Dr. Vigoren reveal how oral structure and airway health, starting from birth, play a major role in long-term sleep quality and overall wellness — and how these issues can be safely prevented and effectively treated with the right dental and functional medicine approaches.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:✔ How dental structure affects sleep and breathing✔ Why chronic short sleep contributes to early aging✔ The connection between poor sleep and brain diseases✔ How airway development begins right after birth✔ Preventive dental strategies to improve sleep and cognition✔ Functional medicine treatments for better long-term health