Nightly snoring can be a sign of a dangerous condition called sleep apnea (from “a” meaning without and “pnea” meaning breath). When someone snores the soft tissues in the back of the throat collapse onto themselves and obstruct the airway, causing the vibration known as snoring.

If the obstruction becomes serious, it is called obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. In such cases the flow of air may be stopped for brief periods, causing the person to wake for a second or two with a loud gasp as he attempts to catch his breath. This can cause heart and blood pressure problems, related to low oxygen levels in the blood. The obstruction and mini-awakening cycle can occur as many as 50 times an hour. A person with this condition awakens tired and faces the risk of accidents at work or while driving due to fatigue.

Studies show that sleep apnea patients are much more likely to suffer from heart attack, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, brain damage and strokes.

What can be done to treat OSA?
Snoring, apnea, and OSA occur more frequently in people who are overweight. So start with losing weight and exercising.

At our office, we can design oral appliances to wear while sleeping that will keep your airway open while you sleep. These appliances, which look like sports mouth guards, work by repositioning the lower jaw, tongue, soft palate and uvula (soft tissues in the back of the throat); stabilizing the lower jaw and tongue; and increasing the muscle tone of the tongue.

Another approach is to use a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) bedside machine. These machines send pressurized air through a tube connected to a mask covering the nose and sometimes the mouth. The pressurized air opens the airway so that breathing is not interrupted.

Much less frequently, jaw surgeries may be recommended to remove excess tissues in the throat. These would be done by specially trained oral surgeons or ear, nose and throat specialists.

Diagnosis and treatment of OSA is best accomplished by joint consultation with your physician and our office. Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss snoring and OSA. You can learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Sleep Disorders and Dentistry” and “Snoring and Sleep Apnea.”

If you wake yourself by snoring or have been told by others that you snore, you should share this fact with us during your next visit. Why? Many people are shocked to learn that their dentist is a vital resource for treating snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a condition that occurs when the upper airway (back of your throat) is blocked or obstructed causing significant airflow disruption or even no airflow whatsoever for 10 seconds or more.

Self Test For Sleep Apnea

While your responses to the following questions are not a diagnosis for OSA, they can be warning signs that you may have OSA or another condition that is impacting your sleep.

1. Are you a loud habitual snorer?
2. Has anyone ever witnessed you holding your breath, gasping for air or even choking while asleep?
3. Do you regularly feel un-refreshed or tired even after waking from eight or more hours of sleep?
4. Do you find yourself easily falling asleep throughout your day at work or at home?
5. Do you suffer from poor concentration or judgment, memory loss, irritability and/or depression from lack of sleep?
6. Are you 15 pounds over the normal weight range for your height and/or does you neck measure more than 17 inches around if you are male and 16 inches if you are female?

If you answered, “yes” to any of the above questions, you should share your responses to all of these questions with both your physician and us so that you can receive a thorough examination to address your sleep concerns. And if you are diagnosed with OSA, we can help with specific oral treatment options that may work best for you.

Learn More

Learn more about the signs, symptoms, and treatment options when you read “Snoring & Sleep Apnea.” Contact us today to discuss your questions or to schedule a consultation.

Dentistry has ventured into the new area of sleep medicine by helping snorers — and their exasperated sleeping partners — with custom-made anti-snoring devices. These oral appliances, which resemble orthodontic retainers or sports mouthguards, keep the snorer's airway clear and the bedroom quiet. To see how they work, you have to understand the mechanics of snoring.

Snoring occurs when the upper airway (back of the throat) becomes blocked by the tongue or other soft-tissue structures, such as large tonsils or a long soft palate. The vibrating of these obstacles creates the sound we call snoring.

Snoring is often worse when sleeping on one's back because that position encourages the lower jaw to fall back and the tongue to close off the airway. This is where Oral Appliance Therapy comes in. These custom-fitted devices are designed to keep the upper airway open during sleep by pulling the lower jaw forward, which in turn brings the tongue away from the throat. Dentists, and our office in particular, are the only source for Oral Appliance Therapy.

People who snore should have a thorough examination to rule out Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a potentially dangerous condition in which airflow can be cut off completely for 10 or more seconds (“a” – without; “pnea” – breath), reducing blood-oxygen levels. Chronic, loud snoring is a common finding with OSA.

Please remember that sleep is an integral part of health and well-being. In fact, we spend about a third of our lives doing it. If you are snoring or have any sleep-related breathing disorders that are waking you or your bed partner, be sure to tell our office. There are plenty of examples of the havoc wreaked by sleep-deprived individuals. Remember the Exxon Valdez?

If you have any questions about Oral Appliance Therapy, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

To learn more about the topic of oral appliance therapy, please see the Dear Doctor magazine article “Sleep Disorders & Dentistry.”

If you are experiencing cracking in the corners of your mouth, you have a common condition called perleche or angular cheilitis. Perleche comes from a French word meaning “to lick,” because people tend to lick the irritated areas of their mouths. Angular cheilitis comes from cheil meaning “lip,” and itis meaning “inflammation.”

Sufferers from perleche are usually young children who drool in their sleep, young adults with braces, and older adults who have developed skin wrinkling with deep lines at the corners of their mouths. Perleche may become worse in the winter, when cold weather and dry air dries out the skin of your lips. You may lick your lips often to keep them moistened. This constant licking of the cracked areas can lead to infection, most commonly from a type of yeast called candida albicans. Sources of infection can also include dentures that are not cleaned frequently enough, missing teeth that cause facial changes and added skin wrinkling, and health conditions such as iron-deficiency anemia, vitamin B deficiency, diabetes and cancer.

Conditions associated with perleche can be treated in a number of ways. Yeast is a type of fungus, so to combat a chronic yeast infection you need antifungal medication. This may be taken orally or applied to the cracking places as an ointment. You may be asked to dissolve a medicated lozenge in your mouth and then swallow it, so that its medicine treats both the mouth surface and the entire body. Antifungal medications may be combined with other medications to lessen inflammation and assist skin repair.

If the skin-cracking is related to serious underlying conditions such as missing teeth, improperly fitting dentures, or systemic health conditions, these must be treated in order to keep the perleche from recurring. We can perform a dental assessment to check the health of your teeth, gums, and lips, and you may also want to visit a dermatologist to see if treatments can improve and rejuvenate the quality and appearance of your facial skin.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about cracks at the corners of your mouth. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Cracked Corners of the Mouth.”

You've probably heard that old song about the leg bone being connected to the knee bone; it's easy to see how the human skeleton links together. But the concept of anatomical parts being interconnected actually goes further than you might think. Problems in almost any part of the body can have profound effects in other areas. Your gums offer a perfect example.

Believe it or not, medical research has established a connection between gum disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD). They appear to be linked by inflammation, a protective response to infection. Inflammation can be characterized by a redness and swelling of the body's tissues that you can see. Or its effects can be less obvious.

Gum disease is an infection caused by bacteria, which build up in the mouth in the absence of regular or effective brushing and flossing. When left undisturbed, the bacterial biofilms (dental plaque) change over time so that a small set of highly pathogenic (“patho” – disease; “genic” – causing) organisms emerge that cause periodontitis (“peri” – around; “odont” – tooth; “itis” – inflammation).

Periodontitis can cause not just a localized inflammation of the gum tissue, but also a systemic (whole-body) inflammation. And this chronic, low-grade inflammation throughout the body appears to increase the risk of heart disease considerably. The good news is that there is a lot we can do about gum disease. And when we reduce the inflammation it causes, we can also reduce the risks for CVD and the heart attacks and strokes that can result.

The first step is a thorough, professional periodontal cleaning to remove the bacterial biofilm attached to the roots of the teeth. Sometimes a short course of antibiotics is prescribed to further fight the infection. Advanced periodontitis may require surgery so that we can reach all of the contaminated root surfaces for removal of the bacterial biofilm.

We will also review with you how you can prevent the growth of harmful bacteria through an effective daily oral hygiene routine. This is crucial to maintaining your oral health, which in turn affects your general health and overall well-being.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment to discuss your questions about the relationship between gum disease and heart disease. You can also learn more by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article, “The Link Between Heart & Gum Diseases.”