March 28th, 2010 amogell
OSA, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, can be treated!
COLUMBUS, OH – Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition that disrupts breathing during sleep. According to the Mayo Clinic, OSA is a common breathing disorder that is characterized by frequent and repeated “instances of upper airway obstruction during sleep”. In simple terms, the airway becomes blocked and the sleeper actually stops breathing – this can happen hundreds of times per night.
Restless sleep and loud snoring are typical symptoms. While OSA is often associated with obesity there are other causes. The obstruction can be caused by excess tissue in the airway, a large tongue or tonsils or nasal issues that diminish the airflow. Patients often suffer from morning headaches and daytime sleepiness, memory loss, high blood pressure, heart disease and increased risk of stroke.
Depending upon the severity, OSA is treated by lifestyle changes, weight loss, breathing equipment (such as the CPAP) or surgery. A highly effective treatment for mild to moderate sleep apnea is a customized oral appliance that is fitted by a dentist specially trained in dental sleep medicine. If you feel you or your spouse may be suffering from OSA please contact Dr. Mark Levy in Gahanna, Ohio at 614-454-3488 for a consultation and possible referral for testing for obstructive sleep apnea.
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March 24th, 2010 amogell
Healthy Mouth = Healthy Body
COLUMBUS, OH – While we know that maintaining good overall health is not quite as simple as brushing and flossing and keeping your appointments with the dental hygienist, science keeps proving links between poor oral health and their effects upon your entire body.
Your teeth and gums can tell a lot about your overall health. For example, cavities and gum disease may point to diabetes or heart disease. Loose teeth can be a sign of osteoporosis. We now know that more than 90% of systemic conditions such as heart disease can be linked to symptoms in your mouth.
Most patients see their dentist more often than they see their physician. Your dentist looks for oral signs that might indicate other serious health issues, not just cavities. For instance, bleeding gums, dry mouth and fungal infections are signals that you may need to be checked for diabetes.
“Diabetes is the one disease that we know can have a direct impact on infections in the bones and gums around the teeth,” according to Sally Cram, DDS, an adviser for the American Dental Association.
Another condition often spotted by dentists is Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Patients with OSA often experience symptoms affecting the temporomandibular joint or specific changes to the tongue that an experienced dental sleep medicine practitioner can spot quite easily. While diagnosis of sleep apnea requires a sleep study performed by a physician, once diagnosed cases of mild to moderate OSA can be easily managed using a special oral appliance created by your sleep medicine dentist.
Enjoy good overall health by taking care of your oral health and visiting your dentist regularly. In the Columbus area contact us at 614-454-3488 for a consultation and to discuss how Dr. Mark Levy can help you achieve a healthy smile and a healthy life.
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March 18th, 2010 amogell
Getting Rid of Numbness With OraVerse
Many patients complain that the worst part of having dental treatment is the “numbness” while waiting for the anesthesia to wear off. Dental anesthesia injections themselves are virtually painless today but returning to work or school following and appointment can be tricky — smiling, talking and eating are all difficult while still numb.
We now offer OraVerse which rapidly reverses the effects of local dental anesthetics so you can get on with your day following your dental treatment. OraVerse has been shown to return normal sensation to the lips and tongue in about half the time.
Results from the first OraVerse dental practice survey presented at the American Association of Dental Research meeting showed that 86% of dental patients reported that OraVerse improved their dental experience, 82% would recommend OraVerse to their friends and family and that 80% would request the product again.
OraVerse (Phentolamine Mesylate) is an injection that is given at the same site as the anesthetic. Since you are already numb, there is no sensation or discomfort. OraVerse is proven safe and effective for adults and children age 6 or over.
On those days when you simply must get back to your busy schedule, or if you have had previous bad experiences with biting your cheek or lip while numb, OraVerse may hold the solution by rapidly returning you to smiling and speaking normally. In the Columbus area contact us at 614-454-3488 to discuss how OraVerse can help you.
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March 16th, 2010 amogell
Sleep Apnea May Cause Weight Gain
COLUMBUS, OH – A study by Dr. Mark Brown at the University of Arizona College of Medicine showed that people suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be more likely to gain more weight over time than those people with less severe OSA. “OSA is a disorder characterized by decreases or cessation of breathing during sleep. Obesity is a known risk factor for the disorder; however, it is hypothesized that the effects of OSA itself may predispose patients to weight gain,” said Dr. Brown.
Studies like these attempt to answer the “which came first the chicken or the egg?” type of questions surrounding OSA. As Dr. Brown stated, being overweight puts you at much higher risk for having obstructive sleep apnea. But could the OSA have caused the weight gain in the first place? Or is it a circular pattern of OSA leading to weight gain which leads to more severe OSA? Lots of questions still surround our understanding of obstructive sleep apnea but there is undeniable proof that, left untreated, this disease can be deadly.
Many patients who have been diagnosed with OSA are not treating their disease because they cannot tolerate using the CPAP machine. Mild to moderate sleep apnea can be treated effectively using an oral appliance that you wear while you sleep. There are no masks or tubes to deal with making it much easier for patients to comply with the treatment.
If you or a loved one may be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea please contact us by clicking on this link or in the Gahanna, Ohio area call 614-454-3488 for a consultation.
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March 13th, 2010 amogell
COLUMBUS, OH – Diabetes is a very serious chronic disease that is affecting more and more American’s each year. Diabetes produces abnormally high levels of sugar in the patients blood due to a lack of insulin being produced in the pancreas. Diabetic patients are highly susceptible to infections and other chronic diseases as side effects of the disease. One of the most common infections is periodontal or gum disease and it is one that most diabetic patients can prevent.
The International Diabetes Foundation has made a point of stressing the importance for diabetics to have optimal dental health in their clinical guidelines. Diabetics are particularly susceptible to periodontal disease. According to Dr. Sam Low, President of the American Academy of Periodontology “Periodontal disease triggers the body’s inflammatory response which can affect insulin sensitivity and ultimately lead to unhealthy blood sugar levels. Establishing routine periodontal care is one way to keep diabetes under control.”
Regular dental hygiene visits every three to four months will help minimize the risks of periodontal disease. If you are a diabetic patient or have been told that your may be borderline diabetic a healthy smile can help you keep your disease under control. Please contact us at 614-454-3488 to arrange a comprehensive examination by Dr. Mark Levy.
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March 9th, 2010 amogell
Sleep Apnea’s link to Depression
COLUMBUS, OH – The link between 0bstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and depression has been studied for many years. In 2005 and 2007 Dr. Daniel Schwartz published articles in the Journal Chest and the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine discussing his finding about treatment of sleep apnea and whether this treatment improved patients’ depression. According to Dr. Schwartz, treating OSA definitely improved depressive symptoms, sometimes dramatically.
“Lack of motivation, lack of interest in daily activities, fatigue and tiredness may be seen by the patient and their physician as depression, but it may be sleep apnea,” said Schwartz who is medical director of University Community Hospital in Tampa.
More recently, Dr. Stacey Ishaman and a team at Johns Hopkins University compared patients diagnosed with OSA and a group of patients without OSA. Significantly more patients in the OSA group met the diagnostic requirements for depression versus the non-OSA patients. It was also noted that the severity of the sleep apnea was a very good predictor of the severity of their depression.
What does all this mean? An estimated 12 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea but up to 90% don’t know they have it. If you are suffering from fatigue even after what you think is a full-nights sleep you may be part of this statistic. Many patients avoid diagnosis because they have heard horror stories about the most common treatment, CPAP.
There is another treatment option for mild to moderate sleep apnea. Oral Appliance therapy is highly effective and avoids the discomfort of sleeping with the CPAP machine. In the Columbus area, your experienced Dental Sleep Medicine practitioner is Dr. Mark Levy. Contact us at 614-454-3488 to arrange a consultation with Dr. Levy to discuss your treatment options.
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March 6th, 2010 amogell
Neuromuscular Dentistry – Stress and Teeth Grinding
COLUMBUS, OH – These are stressful times – and people exhibit this stress in different ways. One of the most common is clenching and grinding your teeth. This is called bruxism and most patients never realize that they are grinding their teeth until it causes painful problems.
Should you be concerned that you might be grinding your teeth? Absolutely! The act of bruxism can literally chew away the enamel on your teeth. The American Dental Association (ADA) states that up to 50% of the American population has experienced some form of bruxism or teeth grinding at some point in their lives. Most often, this grinding occurs at night while asleep which is why patients don’t know they have the problem.
There are some signs to look for:
- Do you wake up with sore jaws or jaw joints?
- Do you wake up with headaches?
- Have you experienced tooth breakage?
You might also ask your spouse or a friend to take note to see if you are clenching or grinding your teeth while sleeping. Chronic bruxism can lead to dental problems and even temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ). A trained neuromuscular dentist can help with bruxism. By wearing a specially designed orthotic appliance while you sleep you can protect your teeth and jaw joints from damage.
If you are showing symptoms of bruxism or have questions about this common problem and how neuromuscular dentistry can help, please contact Dr. Mark Levy at 614-454-3488.
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March 2nd, 2010 amogell
Treat Sleep Apnea – Cut Heart Attack Risk
COLUMBUS, OH – Researchers at Yale University found that patients suffering from untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) more than doubled their risk of stroke or heart attack in patients over 50 years old. The effects of obstructive sleep apnea on the human cardiovascular system has been well documented.
The important thing that researchers discussed was that sleep apnea is what is called a “modifiable risk factor”. This means that if the OSA is treated effectively, the risk of heart attack or stroke for those patients goes down dramatically. In the American Journal of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine an article by Minoguchi et al, showed that patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea have certain “markers” in their brains which indicate damage and inflammation. In this study, OSA patients who used their CPAP for three months significantly lowered the level of those inflammatory “markers”. While this shows that CPAP treatment works, many, many patients are unable to tolerate using the CPAP machine.
Patients complain about the noise, feeling claustrophobic, masks not fitting properly and just plain hating the machine. There is a viable alternative for mild to moderate sleep apnea. Oral appliance therapy for sleep apnea is an approved therapy and most patients find sleeping with an oral appliance very comfortable. Some patients who have been using a CPAP for many years have found that an oral appliance makes traveling much easier. Contact Dr. Levy at our Gahanna office at 614-454-3488. We will be pleased to set up a consultation so you can learn more about oral appliance therapy for treating sleep apnea in the Columbus, Ohio area.
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