Step by Step Process
Initial Conversation
The initial conversation can be done over the phone, virtually or in person depending on the circumstances. Our goal is to be as efficient as possible to maximize your time and quickly get your compass oriented back towards health. Your Breath to Thrive provider will start by listening to your story and then having a conversation about your past and present health. An in-depth look into your health history helps us connect the dots with what is truly going on within your body and starts to reveal the root cause of your symptoms. An important thing that will guide your treatment is by having you define your top 3 health wishes, – symptoms you would like to alleviate or improve.
Breathe to Thrive Diagnostics
Following the initial conversation and once your top health goals are discussed, your Breathe to Thrive team will order a series of 3D jaw/airway diagnostic records. See the below diagnostics section for an in-depth look at our process.
Home Sleep Test* (HST)
DISCUSSION OF YOUR TREATMENT CHOICES

The benefit of gathering such thorough diagnostic data and listening to your goals allows the Breath to Thrive team to provide you individualized treatment choices. We say “choices” because there is no one size fits all approach. Each person is unique and thus requires a unique plan. We have many treatment tools and this discussion helps guide you in picking what you feel is best for you or your child. The Breathe to Thrive team feels their job is to present you with the objective data – the pros/cons – and then it’s up to you to own your decision and be excited about it. This is a partnership and true health can only be achieved when both sides are in sync with a common goal.

The Breathe to Thrive Center is all about collaboration and communication. At this point in your treatment journey, we may get other specialist practitioners involved in your care. These providers are Ambassadors of the Breathe to Thrive Center as they have a synergistic approach with their treatment philosophies. This could be a first phase of treatment or phased in over time. Ambassadors include ENT’s, Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Lactation Consultants, Nutritionists, Exercise coaches, Oral Surgeons, Sleep Physicians among others.

At this point we will discuss cost, financing options and insurance coverage. We want you to have access to lifelong health and don’t want cost to be a barrier or an insurance company dictating your health choices. For more information on our policies see the FAQ section.

Beginning your treatment journey
Your journey begins once you and your Breathe to Thrive Team have finalized the best treatment option for you. Depending on the treatment, a few final pieces of data may need to be gathered. Usually, treatment can begin in as little as 2-3 weeks, but sometimes takes 4-6 weeks to get your specific appliances customized for you. Follow up-visits will be prescribed in intervals specific for your treatment. Your Breathe to Thrive team will go over this custom plan once you begin. Any other follow up or post-surgical guidelines will be discussed at this time as well. Throughout your journey with us, we will gather updated diagnostic data to check your progress and re-calibrate your treatment to ensure successful outcomes.
Step by Step Process
Initial Conversation

The initial conversation can be done over the phone, virtually or in person depending on the circumstances. Our goal is to be as efficient as possible to maximize your time and quickly get your compass oriented back towards health. Your Breath to Thrive provider will start by listening to your story and then having a conversation about your past and present health. An in-depth look into your health history helps us connect the dots with what is truly going on within your body and starts to reveal the root cause of your symptoms. An important thing that will guide your treatment is by having you define your top 3 health wishes, – symptoms you would like to alleviate or improve.

Breathe to Thrive Diagnostics
Following the initial conversation and once your top health goals are discussed, your Breathe to Thrive team will order a series of 3D jaw/airway diagnostic records. See the below diagnostics section for an in-depth look at our process.
Home Sleep Test* (HST)

The benefit of gathering such thorough diagnostic data and listening to your goals allows the Breath to Thrive team to provide you individualized treatment choices. We say “choices” because there is no one size fits all approach. Each person is unique and thus requires a unique plan. We have many treatment tools and this discussion helps guide you in picking what you feel is best for you or your child. The Breathe to Thrive team feels their job is to present you with the objective data – the pros/cons – and then it’s up to you to own your decision and be excited about it. This is a partnership and true health can only be achieved when both sides are in sync with a common goal.

The Breathe to Thrive Center is all about collaboration and communication. At this point in your treatment journey, we may get other specialist practitioners involved in your care. These providers are Ambassadors of the Breathe to Thrive Center as they have a synergistic approach with their treatment philosophies. This could be a first phase of treatment or phased in over time. Ambassadors include ENT’s, Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, Lactation Consultants, Nutritionists, Exercise coaches, Oral Surgeons, Sleep Physicians among others.

At this point, we will discuss cost, financing options and insurance coverage. We want you to have access to lifelong health and don’t want cost to be a barrier or have an insurance company dictating your health choices. For more information on our policies see the FAQ section.

Beginning your treatment journey
Your journey begins once you and your Breathe to Thrive Team have finalized the best treatment option for you. Depending on the treatment, a few final pieces of data may need to be gathered. Usually, treatment can begin in as little as 2-3 weeks, but sometimes takes 4-6 weeks to get your specific appliances customized for you. Follow-up visits will be prescribed in intervals specific for your treatment. Your Breathe to Thrive team will go over this custom plan once you begin. Any other follow up or post-surgical guidelines will be discussed at this time as well. Throughout your journey with us, we will gather updated diagnostic data to check your progress and re-calibrate your treatment to ensure successful outcomes.
We strongly believe our patients are more likely to succeed in treatment if they have an in-depth understanding of SDB and its causes. Therefore, we follow a comprehensive process to educate our patients about the possible root cause of their own health issues as well as how our treatment works.
Treatment Plan Presentation
After completion of the above steps, if the patient is a candidate for treatment, a plan will be presented including the cost of treatment and potential insurance coverage. Our insurance specialists will examine your dental and orthodontic benefits for coverage. The coverage amount will depend on the diagnosis and the patient’s insurance plan. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept Medicaid or Medicare at this time.
Starting Treatment
Once treatment is accepted, the doctor will work with you to understand your treatment plan and the necessary steps to begin treatment. A digital impression will then be taken to allow us to order your oral appliances, and instruction on starting myofunctional therapy will be provided. Typically, a patient will return to our office for check-ups and re-evaluations every few weeks in the beginning of treatment and every few months during the later stages.
Treatment Plan Presentation
After completion of the above steps, if the patient is a candidate for treatment, a plan will be presented including the cost of treatment and potential insurance coverage. Our insurance specialists will examine your dental and orthodontic benefits for coverage. The coverage amount will depend on the diagnosis and the patient’s insurance plan. Unfortunately, we are not able to accept Medicaid or Medicare at this time.
Starting Treatment
Once treatment is accepted, the doctor will work with you to understand your treatment plan and the necessary steps to begin treatment. A digital impression will then be taken to allow us to order your oral appliances and instruction on starting myofunctional therapy will be provided. Typically, a patient will return to our office for check-ups and re-evaluations every few weeks in the beginning of treatment and every few months during the later stages.
Our Diagnostic Process
Guiding You on Your Health Journey
Dr. Herre describes the examinations and assessments the team at Herre Holistic Dental KC perform in order to determine the best treatment options available for each individual patient
Dr. Herre describes how a diverse range of diagnostic procedures contribute to whole body health
Our Diagnostic Process
Dr. Herre describes the examinations and assessments the team at Herre Holistic Dental KC perform in order to determine the best treatment options available for each individual patient.
Guiding You on Your Health Journey
Dr. Herre describes how a diverse range of diagnostic procedures contribute to whole body health.
Breathe to Thrive Diagnostics
Breathe to Thrive Diagnostics
New patients complete a thorough medical and dental history, including an assessment of symptoms and sleep/breathing questionnaires. Accurate assessment of a patient’s medical history and symptoms is critical for connecting the dots within whole-body health over a lifetime. We want to know your story – what has gone on in your life leading to today. Only then can we start to peel back the layers and understand what’s really going on.
Mapping your health history
New patients complete a thorough medical history, including an assessment of symptoms and a sleep and breathing questionnaire. Together, this information provides insight into past and present health issues that may be related to sleep disordered breathing. Accurate assessment of a patient’s medical history, symptoms and their severity, is critical for understanding SDB.
3D Imaging of the upper airway and jaws
Using state-of-the-art, low radiation digital 3D x-ray, known as CBCT, enables our Breathe to Thrive team to clearly see the upper airway from inside the nose to below the tongue, jaw bones, jaw joints and other structures from the lower neck up. We use special software to measure the airway volume, locate anatomical airway restrictions and help determine the optimum position of how the upper and lower jaw bones and teeth should fit together. This information is used to guide the design of TMJ, sleep apnea of jaw expansion appliances that will help correct structural issues to improve function. The CBCT scan is also shared with a board certified Radiologist for enhanced interpretation.
Functional Assessment
This exam comprises a comprehensive structural and functional evaluation of the TMJ’s, mouth, tongue function, breathing ability, facial profile, posture, dental bite, and much more. This includes a series of digital photographs inside and outside the mouth and a 3D scan (different than the CBCT) of your teeth, providing us with digital models of your teeth and how your teeth fit together. This information is used to verify structural issues presented by the 3D x-ray and to put together puzzle pieces presented in your health story.
Home Sleep Screening
One of the most important puzzle pieces is to evaluate how someone breathes at night. Inadequate breathing leads to light and disturbed sleep which manifests in so many of the symptoms you may have. The results of this screening greatly impact treatment options.

A formal diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea or upper airway resistance syndrome can only be provided by a board-certified sleep physician. Your sleep screening will be sent for interpretation to a sleep physician, as needed. If there is a positive diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, the sleep physician will write a prescription confirming the existence of OSA and the treatment recommendations.

Mapping your health history
New patients complete a thorough medical history, including an assessment of symptoms and a sleep and breathing questionnaire. Together, this information provides insight into past and present health issues that may be related to sleep disordered breathing. Accurate assessment of a patient’s medical history, symptoms and their severity, is critical for understanding SDB.
3D Imaging of the upper airway and jaws
Using state-of-the-art, low-radiation digital 3D x-ray, known as CBCT, enables our Breathe to Thrive team to clearly see the upper airway from inside the nose to below the tongue, jaw bones, jaw joints and other structures from the lower neck up. We use special software to measure the airway volume, locate anatomical airway restrictions and help determine the optimum position of how the upper and lower jaw bones and teeth should fit together. This information is used to guide the design of TMJ, sleep apnea of jaw expansion appliances that will help correct structural issues to improve function. The CBCT scan is also shared with a board certified Radiologist for enhanced interpretation.
Functional Assessment
This exam comprises a comprehensive structural and functional evaluation of the TMJ’s, mouth, tongue function, breathing ability, facial profile, posture, dental bite, and much more. This includes a series of digital photographs inside and outside the mouth and a 3D scan (different than the CBCT) of your teeth, providing us with digital models of your teeth and how your teeth fit together. This information is used to verify structural issues presented by the 3D x-ray and to put together puzzle pieces presented in your health story.
Home Sleep Screening
One of the most important puzzle pieces is to evaluate how someone breathes at night. Inadequate breathing leads to light and disturbed sleep which manifests in so many of the symptoms you may have. The results of this screening greatly impact treatment options.

A formal diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea or upper airway resistance syndrome can only be provided by a board-certified sleep physician. Your sleep screening will be sent for interpretation to a sleep physician, as needed. If there is a positive diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea, the sleep physician will write a prescription confirming the existence of OSA and the treatment recommendations.

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Amazing care!!! They were able to get me in when I couldn’t get in to see where my Family Dentist referred. That location referred me to Dental Health by Herre. Dr. Herre was extremely thorough and very concerned about my oral health. I would recommend this to anyone!!

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Tracy M.
Leawood, KS

Location

Herre Holistic Dental KC

11201 Nall Avenue
Suite 120
Leawood, KS 66211

Hours

Monday: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Tuesday: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Wednesday: 8:00am - 4:00pm
Thursday: 7:00am - 3:00pm
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