From the Desk of Marilyn Calvo DDS – www.SmileStudioLA.com ACCREDITED MEMBER, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF COSMETIC DENTISTRY

Snoring, Breathing Gaps and Dental Remedies

One time at a cocktail party, I overheard a female guest talking about her husband’s snoring. Now, you may be thinking that this person was complaining to high heavens about how she’s missing her much needed beauty sleep, but that was not the case at all. She was very concerned because she noticed that the snoring was punctuated by pauses where her husband was actually not breathing! When she realizes this, she nudges him and he actually sort of ‘gasps’ as he resumes normal breathing.

At this point, I turned around and introduced myself. I mentioned that I was a dentist and that her husband’s snoring and breathing gaps was something that’s dangerous. It may be something called Obstructive Sleep Apnea and that perhaps he should consider using a dental appliance to alleviate the problem.

For a while, the group looked funny at me (dental problems cause bad cases of snoring) so I proceeded to explain.

You see, snoring is the result of blocked airflow. When you lie down to sleep, your tongue retreats slightly into your mouth. However, when you have big tonsils, a slightly big tongue, fat pockets in this region, and your uvula (that thing dangling at the back of your throat) is bigger than normal, these tissues crowd each other, stopping proper airflow into your body. The snoring is actually the result of air trying to maneuver through these obstacles.

The thing that makes Obstructive Sleep Apnea very dangerous is the fact that hindered airflow into your body results in low blood oxygen levels. Also, this condition happens MANY times in one night. Considering the numerous occurrences of sleeping, not breathing, gasping, slightly waking up, sleeping, not breathing, gasping… and so on, sufferers of this condition feel drowsy during the day. This in turn hinders their overall efficiency. Over time, Obstructive Sleep Apnea can lead to heart ailments and even brain strokes.

One of the things you can do to prevent snoring and breathing gaps is to apply dental appliance therapy.

The first step in knowing whether you just having a snoring problem or if you have life threatening SLEEP APNEA, is to get a sleep study.  During a sleep study, a technician calculates how many times a night your brain is deprived of oxygen.  Depending on how many times you stop breathing, your SLEEP APNEA will be classified as mild, moderate or severe.  If it is mild, you can have your snoring controlled with a dental appliance.  If it is moderate or severe SLEEP APNEA, the ideal treatment is to use a machine at night that makes sure you get all the oxygen you need.

In mild sleep apnea, a dental appliance (similar to mouth guards) is used during sleep. This ensures that airflow is never disrupted during sleep, preventing snoring and, more importantly, preventing dangerous breathing gaps.

If you think you may be suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea, please call your physician or feel free to call our office at (818) 788-1352

NOTE: THE DIAGNOSIS IS PRIMARY AND THEN WORKING TOGETHER YOUR PHYSICIAN AND DENTIST CAN HELP YOU DECIDE WHICH TREATMENT MODALITY IS BEST FOR YOU!

Also, the main reason for Obstructive Sleep Apnea varies from one person to the other. For instance, a big uvula may be the main cause for Joe, but not for Tom.

Your dentist will be able check you up and find out the main cause, and thus provide the proper oral appliance to use.

Best Regards,

Marilyn Calvo DDS

Smile Studio LA

Accredited Member, AACD

Dr. Calvo is one of only 300 members in the world to achieve AACD Accreditation status.  Recently, she was honored by being selected as the featured dentist in an ad for Accreditation published in several dental journals.  Dr. Calvo is a well-respected Cosmetic Dentist in the Los Angeles and Beverly Hills areas.  Dr. Calvo is passionate about changing lives and increasing self-esteem in the patients she has helped serve through Smile Makeovers, Porcelain Veneers, Dental Implants and other artistic dental services. Click here to view her blog for more information or become a Fan of her Facebook FanPage by Clicking Here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Sleep Apnea. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.