Dr Pascal Nguyen

Your mouth is the beginning of your gut — literally.

When you swallow, you swallow your oral microbiome. The bacteria living in your gums and biofilm seed your digestive tract every single day.

Gum disease bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium) have been found in the gut and linked to IBD and systemic inflammation. H. pylori can recolonize the gut from oral biofilm after antibiotic treatment — which is why GI treatment often fails without addressing the mouth first.

This is why I ask new patients about their gut health. It's why treating gum disease matters far beyond saving teeth.

If you or your doctor have been treating gut problems without talking about oral health — that conversation is overdue.

Tongue tie isn't just a newborn problem. It affects adults with sleep apnea, neck pain, and chronic jaw tension — and most dentists never check.

When the lingual frenulum is too tight, the tongue can't rest properly on the roof of your mouth. That leads to mouth breathing, forward head posture, narrow arches, and sleep-disordered breathing.

I assess tongue function in every new patient exam. My wife Jenn is a myofunctional therapist — we co-manage these cases together.

If you've been told you have sleep apnea, TMJ problems, or unexplained neck tension: ask if anyone has evaluated your tongue function.

DM or link in bio.
📍 Beaverton, OR

Why I stopped placing titanium implants — and what I use instead.

Titanium has been the dental implant standard for decades. It works well for most people. But for patients dealing with autoimmune conditions, heavy metal burden, or chronic inflammation, metal implants introduce variables I'd rather eliminate.

I now place zirconia (ceramic) implants exclusively.

Why: no metal ions, no electrical conductivity, better gum tissue response, no galvanic reactions, and studies show osseointegration rates comparable to titanium.

If you're healthy and uncomplicated, titanium may be fine. But if you're already navigating chronic health challenges — material choice matters more than most dentists will acknowledge.

Questions about implant options? DM or link in bio.
📍 Beaverton, OR

Your sleep study came back normal. But you're still exhausted every morning.

Here is what that gap can mean.

Sleep medicine screens for apnea — breathing that stops. A dental airway screen looks at something different: the structure your breathing has to work around every night.

Jaw width, palate shape, tongue posture, nasal breathing, bite — all of it determines how hard your body works to breathe while you sleep. When that effort is high, sleep is fragmented even if the study looks clean.

We see this regularly in Beaverton: professionals, parents, kids who have been told "everything is fine" while still waking up tired.

If fatigue has become your normal, ask for an airway-focused dental evaluation.

📍 PJN Dental, Beaverton, OR | (503) link in bio

Ozone therapy has been used in dentistry for over 30 years. Most dentists have never mentioned it.

Here's what it does and why I use it in nearly every procedure:

Ozone (O3) is a highly reactive form of oxygen that destroys bacterial cell membranes on contact — no resistance, no side effects at therapeutic levels.

I use it for cavity decontamination, gum disease treatment, post-extraction socket care, root canal sterilization, and before placing any restoration or implant.

The research is solid. We're not talking about fringe therapy — a 2020 Cochrane review confirmed ozone's effectiveness for early tooth decay.

If you've seen 10 dentists and none mentioned ozone, now you know what to ask about.

📍 Beaverton, OR | DM or link in bio for a consult.