Sleep Apnea and the Dentist's Role

Jun/28/2011

     Do you suffer from sleep apnea?  Does your spouse snore loudly and occasionally gasp for air during the night?  Sleep apnea is a medical condition in which an individual temporarily stops breathing during sleep.  Not only does this cause a person to find them self very tired and moody throughout the day, but it also causes periods of oxygen deprivation to your body through the night.  85% of people with congestive heart failure and 92% of people who have a stroke suffer from sleep apnea!  The long-term effects of low oxygen in your blood stream can have fatal ramifications.

    Your dentist can help!  By being in the unique position where we exam our patient's oral cavity two times a year, we can look for simple warning signs and ask basic questions.  Do you have a large neck?  Are you overweight?  Do you have a large tongue?  Are you tired through the day?  Are you moody?  Do you fall asleep at work, while driving, while watching TV, or just by simply sitting down?  Spouses, does your significant other snore loudly, or stop breathing during the night? 

     We our not in a position to diagnose sleep apnea, but we can send you to an appropriate sleep clinic and if your sleep apnea is diagnosed as mild to moderate according to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), you may be a candidate for the Somnodent Sleep Appliance.  This appliance functions by protruding your lower jaw forward to help allow your airway to remain patent through the night.  The FDA has approved the usage of these appliances and in some cases medical insurance will cover up to 100% of the cost!  Please contact our office for more information or to set up a consultation today. 

2011 Nation's Captial Dental Meeting

Apr/19/2011

I recently attended for the first time, the annual Dental meeting in Washington, DC.  If you've never had the chance to ride the Amtrak, it is a very convenient and cheap way to travel into the heart of DC without having to fight traffic.  The Washington Convention center is a massive 4 stories high covering 2 city blocks, and the city in general is a very pleasant, educational, and fun city to visit if you've never visited. 

The dental courses were spread out over 3 days.  I had the opportunity to update and expand my knowledge on the latest advancement in porcelain crowns and the techniques used to cement them into place.  I also attended a seminar on posterior composite resins (tooth colored fillings on your back chewing teeth).  The lecturer for the course, Dr. Ron Jackson, is a graduate of WVU.  The technology and innovations in dentistry are truly amazing.  For anyone who thinks dentistry is simply "drill-it and fill-it), stop by sometime, and I'll share with you some of the complexities of the materials we use. 

The last 2 courses were not quite tooth related but still very relevant to the profession of dentistry.  A capsule clinic on social media focused on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  I have attempted to create a Facebook page for our business, but if you visit, you'll see it still needs some work.  As far as Twitter is concerned, its hard for me to imagine that anyone could care enough about dentistry to follow my "Tweets".  

Finally, the last course focused on Botox and dermal fillers to alleviate the signs of aging.  Should dentists be using these in their practice?  I suppose that's a matter of opinion.  My opinion?  I would rather have someone injecting Botox who is already accustomed to using sharp things around the patient's mouth, but at this point in my career I do not have enough knowledge on Botox to incorporate it into my practice.  Maybe someday?