Ask the Dental Experts

Sunday, May 24, 2009

A Sleep Apnea Dental Device that Offers an Alternative to CPAP

The SomnoDent® MAS is a sleep apnea dental appliance that a series of rigorous clinical trials have proven to be a comfortable and safe alternative CPAP treatment. Several key design features, advantages, and benefits allow this sleep apnea dental appliance to function much more effectively than typical, traditional mouth guards.

One key feature of SomnoDent® MAS is its streamlined design that makes it one of the few devices of its kind that can be worn by people with a strong gag reflex. It fits both the upper and lower arches of the jaw equally, and it has been engineered to make both anterior and posterior contact with key areas in the mouth. Occlusion is therefore more stable, and tooth movement is minimized.

The SomnoDent® MAS can minimize the tempero-mandibular joint discomfort that is often caused by other night guards. It has also consistently proven itself to be a strong preventative of Bruxism.

This sleep apnea dental device is actually composed of two separate pieces so that it will be easier for people to open and close their mouths. Patients are able to yawn, speak understandably, and drink while wearing their nightguard.

The SomnoDent® MAS sleep apnea dental device can also be worn without causing excessive salivation. Other night guards often trigger this because of a piece that holds them to the front teeth. However, the MAS fits so seamlessly into the upper and lower arches that it requires no secondary attachment mechanism, so the side effects caused by other dental devices which include dry mouth, dribbling, and undo salivation are absent with the SomnoDent.

Another benefit that this extraordinary, comfortable fit offers the patient is an exceptionally high level of retention. Seldom, if ever, does a SomnoDent® MAS ever fall out of the mouth of a patient. It can, however, be conveniently removed and titrated, cleaned, and disinfected just like any other sleep apnea dental device. Its acrylic construction makes it difficult to damage, and even if it is damaged, repairs and adjustments are easy to make.

When the dentist issues your SomnoDent sleep apnea dental device, he or she adjusts it to fit the optimal protrusion position of your mouth. This ensures the most effective and comfortable treatment possible. Adjusting the device is also easy, because it is made to fit each the optimal protrusion position of each and every patient in order to find which setting provides the most effective and comfortable treatment. We at the Cosmetic Dentistry Center of Houston have made it a point to make the SomnoDent® MAS a key option to patients who suffer from sleep apnea and who feel that CPAP treatment simply is not an option for them.

Labels: CPAP, obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, sleep apnea

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a serious condition characterized by the sudden cessation of breathing during sleep. Breathing can stop for as long as 10 seconds at a time, and can occur as often as 30 times per hour. The more often this occurs, the more the brain is deprived of oxygen.

There are two major forms of sleep apnea: central sleep apnea (CSA), and obstructive sleep apnea, (OSA). CSA originates in the brain and is characterized by neurological failure to send the signal to the throat muscles to breath. This is a more rare form of the disorder that occurs primarily in children whose brains have not yet fully developed. In adults, it can be triggered by head injuries, neuromuscular disorders, and sometimes by medications prescribed for other conditions.

The more common form of the disorder is Obstructive sleep apnea. OSA is caused by throat muscles collapsing onto themselves due to excessive relaxation, obesity, or side effects caused by smoking or drinking too much. OSA affects 17% of the male and female middle-aged populations, but few of these people ever realize they have the disorder because it is so difficult to self-diagnose. Persons who suffer from any of the above symptoms should call their doctor and ask to be referred to a diagnostic sleep center. Here, they can stay the night under close observation and be diagnosed properly by trained experts who know how to spot the disorder and calculate its level of severity.

If the person does indeed have sleep apnea, the doctor will then prescribe a treatment plan. The most common method of treatment is the use of a CPAP machine that helps a patient breathe during the night. The machine pushes compressed air through a mask that fits over the face, putting just enough force on the windpipe to keep it open. The CPAP machine must be set to a precise level of compression to get the right amount of air into the passageway. While this can easily be done by the doctor, many people find the mask too uncomfortable to wear. This has resulted in a very high level of non-compliance with the treatment, even though it has been proven to be highly effective. Some people just let the machine sit idle beside their bed. Others wind up storing it in the closet to gather dust and go back to snoring all night and being tired all day long. This is not a good thing to do, because it can lead to respiratory and craniological problems later in life if left untreated.

There is hope for these people, however. New dental technology has emerged that has provided an alternative to CPAP therapy in the form of a sleep apnea dental appliance. This is basically a special mouth guard made custom to the upper and lower jaws of the individual. It keeps the lower jaw extended just enough to prevent the trachea from closing in on itself, and allows normal breathing to occur without the aid of a machine.

More information on sleep apnea is available through the following links:
Sleep Apnea
Orthognathic Surgery
Polysomnography
Upper Airway Resistance
Sleep Apnea Oral Appliance

The Medical Center Dental Group is happy to announce the inclusion of the SomnoDent MAS in our repertoire of sleep apnea treatment options. We typically make 3-4 of these per months for people who come to us frustrated with CPAP therapy. If you are currently neglecting your treatment plan but know that you should be doing something proactive about your sleep apnea, call us for a fitting and let us get you started on the road to relief and recovery.

Labels: obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, sleep disorders, SomnoDent MAS

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Sleep Disorders and Treatment Options

It is hard for many people to sleep well at night. Many times, a person will wake up and not be able to go back to sleep. This is often a good indication that a sleep disorder of some kind is present. There are other symptoms as well that include snoring loudly, and being drowsy all day long even after 8 hours or more of sleep. Self-diagnosis of these conditions is very hard to make because there are so many different sleep disorders that it is necessary to seek professional help.

Sleep disorders that are most common in American adults include restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea, insomnia, and narcolepsy. Restless leg syndrome makes a person feel like they must constantly move their legs because they are itching, or because they feel like something is crawling on their flesh. Narcolepsy is based on a feeling of intense lethargy that plagues the individual throughout the day. It can make driving and operating machinery dangerous and also cause an overall drop in productivity. Both narcolepsy and insomnia can often be successfully managed with the right M.D. treatment plan and prescription medication.

Insomnia is not always the culprit, however. Sometimes people who grid their teeth at night (a condition known as Bruxism) go to dentist seeking treatment for what they think is a side effect of insomnia. During the course of the examination, the dentist discovers that the person is actually suffering from an entirely different sleep disorder—sleep apnea.

This condition is characterized by loud snoring and waking up suddenly throughout the night. While this resembles the restlessness of insomnia, it is generated by an entirely different root cause. The most common form of this sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, occurs when throat muscles collapse upon the airway. Dentists can do a great deal to help a patient with sleep apnea by treating the condition with a sleep apnea oral appliance. Such a device puts tension on the lower jaw and keeps the air passageway open enough for normal breathing to occur.

Severe OSA may require surgery to treat. Other remedies such as RFTA may need to be performed. The most common non-surgical remedy is a CPAP machine which pushes compressed air into the throat to maintain regular breathing. Most patients who use a sleep apnea oral appliance do so because they previously tried CPAP and found it uncomfortable.

Related Articles on Our Website:

Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea Information
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Do not neglect talking to a doctor or dentist if you think you may have a sleep disorder. Some of the more severe syndromes can develop into life-threatening conditions. Call our office and make an appointment to get on the road to recovery with a sound and affordable treatment plan.

Labels: obstructive sleep apnea, OSA, sleep apnea, sleep disorders