A photo of Dr. Nolf, Founder of THRIVE Sleep and Breathing

About Dr. Randy Nolf

Founder of THRIVE Sleep and Breathing

Dr. Nolf can help you sleep, place your implants, save your teeth, and teach you to ski. He’s part dental sleep specialist, part implant surgeon, part gum surgeon and part ski instructor.

Dr. Randy Nolf (a little about me)

I’m the founder of THRIVE Sleep and Breathing.

Radiant health for patients is my top goal. My career has evolved as I adopted emerging technologies in dentistry to better serve patients. I trained as a dentist, periodontist, implant surgeon, and, now, pneumopedist – a specialty in the new science for sleep disorder breathing. I’m also a certified professional ski instructor working as an employee of Vail Resorts on weekends… where we instructors take fun seriously.

I’m grateful to have been introduced to the new medical/dental field of pneumopedics as another way to fulfill our practice purpose of “making people better.”

Helping patients overcome obstructive sleep disorders such as sleep apnea without surgery or ongoing need for a mask, a guard, or an appliance has been a source of great satisfaction. Desperate people are seeking liberation from nightly CPAP purgatory and restful rejuvenating sleep without appliances is a gift we can now provide.

I’ve spent my life and career in the Poconos. After graduating from Lehighton Area High School, Temple University, Temple University Dental School, and Temple University Graduate Periodontology Residency, I practiced as a periodontist in Stroudsburg and Lehighton. I truly love meeting and helping my neighbors, sometimes lifelong friends, and employing the skills I’ve worked hard to perfect.

The Thrive Sleep and Breathing Team

In addition to local practice, I enjoyed over 2 decades of teaching at Temple University Kornberg School of Dental Medicine in both the Predoctoral Clinic and Post Doctoral Periodontal Specialty Residency.

My two greatest sources of professional pride are fostering my own continuous technical curiosity and adopting new technologies designed to heal patients with faster, more effective, less invasive procedures. In recent years, I have added skills and therapies beyond implant dentistry including advanced laser therapies, which regenerate degradation from gum and bone diseases affecting teeth as well as implants, plus, the career-changing discipline of dental sleep medicine- through the new science and methodology of pneumopedics. It’s the latter that inspired me to launch THRIVE Sleep and Breathing centers where we exclusively focus on sleep disorder breathing, TMJ dysfunction, and related conditions.

There’s little doubt I’m a dental nerd. Over the years, I have spearheaded various projects including the creation of a patented computerized system that leverages artificial intelligence to diagnose and manage dental disease. Our original patents for this system, obtained in 2003, spawned the PreViser corporation that was acquired by Delta Dental in 2018.

On winter weekends since 1981 I can be found teaching skiing at Big Boulder Ski Area. It’s a great way to celebrate the Pocono winters instead of suffering through them.

I have been blessed with an amazing family. My wife is a hospital pharmacist at the top of her game and we have two daughters, both Lehigh University graduates, who have subsequently earned MBAs while also pursuing their professional goals in the corporate arena. As a family we value practical education that can be applied in business as well as continuous personal growth.