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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

COLUMBUS, OH – Some polls show that as many as four out of five Americans admit to being afraid of the dentist and up to 25% of adults are so fearful that they don’t get the care they need.  Every day more research shows that healthy teeth and gums are a huge contributor to your overall health.   Avoiding gum disease can protect you from heart disease, diabetes, some types of cancers and for pregnant women, can even help your unborn baby.

People who are afraid of the dentist usually have one of three types of dental fear -

• Dental anxiety is a reaction to something unknown such as a procedure you have never had before
• Dental fear is a reaction to something that is known or perceived to be known such as experiencing treatment from an uncaring dentist or being told horror stories by friends or family
• Dental phobia is an extreme type of dental fear which may cause a physical fear response such as fight-or-flight

There is help available for those suffering from anxiety and fearfulness about dental procedures.  Sedation dentistry or relaxation dentistry uses medication to relax the fears away.  Combine this with a highly trained, caring doctor and staff and your healthy, beautiful smile is finally within your reach.

Contact us for more information about dentistry with the “little pill” in the Columbus, Ohio area at 614-476-6696.

COLUMBUS, OH – Headaches, facial pain, neck pain, strange noises in your ears, clicking jaw joints – all symptoms of temporomandibular joint dysfunction and all difficult to live with.  If you are suffering from any one or more of these symptoms you could have a TMJ problem.  Until you are able to get an appointment with your neuromuscular dentist here are some do-it-yourself suggestions that can help alleviate your discomfort.

Remember that ice is your friend.  Gel ice packs are available at your local pharmacy and are easy to apply to the jaw area.  Just like you might apply ice to a sprained ankle, ice on the temporomandibular joint helps reduce swelling and pain.  If you can tolerate ibuprofen, it is a wonderful drug to reduce inflammation and help begin healing.

Modify your diet.  Again, think of your injured jaw joint like a sprained ankle.  Every time you eat hard or chewy foods, you are “running” on that jaw joint.  Place yourself on a non-chew soft diet.  Nothing harder than the consistency of cooked pasta.  No chewing gum or ice and stifle your yawns as much as possible.  In general, minimize using your mandible as much as possible.

Gentle passive exercises to strengthen the muscles of the temporomandibular joint  and mouth area are important to maintain a healthy range of motion.  A referral to a qualified physical therapist is always beneficial in getting the TMJ muscles relaxed and pain free.

Treating temporomandibular joint dysfunctions is not something that every dentist is trained to do.  The jaw joint is among the most complex in the human body and it takes advanced training in neuromuscular dentistry  to effectively treat these types of cases.  Dr. Mark Levy is an LVI Fellow which means he has attained the highest levels of neuromuscular training at the prestigious Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies.

These self-help tips will not “cure” your TMJ problem but may help make you more comfortable until your appointment with Dr. Levy.  Please contact us today at 614-476-6696 to schedule your consultation.

COLUMBUS, OH – What is that constant ringing in my ears?  One of the most vexing conditions is tinnitus – a ringing or buzzing sound in the ears.  Fortunately for most sufferers the condition is not related to serious illness but is extremely annoying and can affect social relationships or work.

What causes the bells to start ringing?  Sometimes it is damage to cells of the inner ear.  This damage could simply be age related or caused by previous traumatic injury.  Some medications cause tinnitus.  A frequently overlooked cause of funny sounds in the ears is TMD or temporomandibular joint disorder.

The temporomandibular joint is the joint where your lower jaw attaches.  This joint is one of the most complex in the human body – flexing and bending in many directions.  The jaw joint is also under constant stress from talking, chewing and, for many people, grinding their teeth.  While the most common symptoms of TMD are  facial pain, neck pain, clicking in the jaw and severe headaches many patients report ringing, buzzing or a feeling of “fullness” in their ears.

Many patients have gone from one specialist to another for many years seeking relief, only to be told that their ears look fine.  There are effective treatment options from a trained neuromuscular dentist.  Treatment of these conditions requires extensive education such as that offered at LVI (The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies).  As an LVI Fellow, Dr. Levy is uniquely qualified to care for patients with TMD in the Gahanna, Ohio area.

Contact our office for a consultation about neuromuscular dentistry and tinnitus at 614-454-3488 or visit our website at www.marklevydds.com.

COLUMBUS, OH – Research presented at a recent scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) found that nearly 1 in 4 patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) also suffer from bruxism, or nighttime teeth grinding. About 8 percent of the US population experiences bruxism, commonly known as teeth grinding, which is associated with TMJ problems, a bad bite or stress.

According to Dr. Shyam Subramanian of Baylor “High levels of anxiety can lead to bruxism, and untreated sleep apnea is known to cause mood disturbances including depression and anxiety.  Daytime sleepiness from sleep apnea may cause a person to ingest caffeine, and this has also been associated with a high risk of bruxism.”

Left untreated, teeth grinding causes extreme tooth wear and decay.  Gum tissue may be damaged and common complaints include jaw pain, headaches and neck pain – continued teeth grinding may also lead to temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

“Bruxism can be both a daytime syndrome as well as a nighttime syndrome, but it is bruxism during sleep, including short naps, that causes the majority of health issues” said Dr. Subramanian.  Fortunately, oral appliance therapy for obstructive sleep apnea is highly effective for treating both OSA and solving the problem of nighttime teeth grinding.

“Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea can lead to many secondary health conditions,” said Dr. Kalpalatha Guntupalli, President of the ACCP.  “When treating sleep apnea, clinicians must also recognize and address secondary health conditions, such as bruxism, in order to fully manage a patient’s sleep disorder.”  As an experienced neuromuscular and dental sleep medicine practitioner, Dr. Mark Levy is uniquely qualified to meet this need.

If you feel you are grinding your teeth during sleep and have a snoring problem or if you have been diagnosed with OSA contact our office to find out more about oral appliance therapy.  Patients in the Columbus, Ohio area call 614-454-3488 or click to arrange a consultation to discuss oral appliance therapy with Dr. Mark Levy.

Columbus, OH – So many patients in my practice ask about their snoring and whether it is dangerous.  The answer is, quite possibly, very dangerous.  While some snoring is simply annoying-keeping spouses and family awake, if your snoring is really sleep apnea then you are truly playing with fire.  Sleep Apnea is a disorder that causes people to stop breathing for long periods of time causing spikes in blood pressure and is a factor in stroke and sudden death.  It is an extremely dangerous disease if left untreated.  Watch the video below and count how long this guy takes between breaths.

   This man is at serious risk for major health issues. His blood oxygen level is dipping very low.  Do you know that you would need to hold your breath for three to four minutes to get your blood oxygen levels anywhere near the level of a person with sleep apnea. It is impossible to do.  In my next posting I will discuss the rise in sleep apnea and its relation to the growing epidemic of obesity in America.

Mark Levy DDS