January 6, 2012

Do You Have a Sleep Problem?

Filed under: Sleep Apnea/Snoring/CPAP Intolerant — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 9:03 pm

As a dentist treating sleep apnea patients in the Bethesda, MD area I usually ask all of my patients about their sleeping habits and if they have a sleep problem. A national survey asked the same type of questions and an astounding 99% percent of the people surveyed reported at least one sleep complaint even though they rated their own health as good, very good or excellent.

Over half said they didn’t feel as if they were getting enough sleep, 45% said they snore, 45% also said they suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness, 37% had trouble falling asleep and 12% knew that they stopped breathing or experienced gasping while asleep.

What is worse than the 99% number is the fact that only 24% had told their doctor about their sleep problem. The data from the survey showed that while 4.6% had received a sleep apnea diagnosis, 33% of the people actually had the signs of sleep apnea.

Living with an untreated sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea can cause serious health problems including cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes and sexual dysfunction. Getting diagnosed and treated can drastically improve your quality of life and give you back the energy and pep that you thought was long gone.

If you snore, feel excessively sleepy during the day, have experienced weight gain or difficulty in losing weight or if you have been told to stop breathing during sleep you may have obstructive sleep apnea. To learn more about diagnosing your sleep problem and how your Bethesda sleep apnea dentist can help please contact Dr. Bernard Greenbaum at 301-530-3600 today to schedule your consultation.

January 4, 2012

Sleep Apnea Affects Atrial Fibrillation

Filed under: Sleep Apnea/Snoring/CPAP Intolerant — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 6:05 pm

Bethesda sleep apnea sufferers should be aware of the effects of sleep apnea on atrial fibrillation. Sleep disordered breathing such as obstructive sleep apnea has been shown to increase the risk of heart arrhythmias like atrial fibrillation (afib). A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology showed that the risk of having an abnormal heartbeat was 18 times higher immediately after an apnea episode compared to during normal sleep breathing.

Even more frightening, the sleep apnea did not have to be severe to raise the risk of afib. “Our focus was on individuals with mild to moderate apnea since it is those people we could compare periods of sleep where there were no apneas to periods where apneas occurred,” said coauthor Dr. Susan Redline of Case Western Reserve University. This work “underscores the tight link between heart disease and sleep apnea and the need to further evaluate the impact of sleep apnea treatment on reducing heart disease burden.”

Sleep apnea treatment is vital for maintaining a healthy heart. The gold standard for treating the disease is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), however studies show that about half of patients discontinue CPAP within one year and those that do continue average only about 3 hours per night. Another treatment that has been declared effective by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine but is not well known is oral appliance therapy available from a sleep apnea dentist who is trained in dental sleep medicine. An oral appliance is a small mouthpiece that is worn while sleeping and it works by gently placing your lower jaw in a position that keeps the airway open during sleep. No more blocked airway – no more apnea events.

To find out more about oral appliance therapy to treat your sleep apnea please contact Bethesda Sleep Apnea dentist Dr. Bernard Greenbaum at 301-530-3600 today.

December 23, 2011

Sleepy Policemen May Be Common

Filed under: Sleep Apnea/Snoring/CPAP Intolerant — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:27 pm

Sleep problems or sleep disorders of some kind affect one-third to one-half of all Americans. The cost to society in lost productivity and accidents is huge as well as the toll these problems take on the patients and their families.  Recently almost 5,000 police officers in the US and Canada were screened for sleep problems and about 40% of them tested positive for at least one type of sleep disorder. The most common was obstructive sleep apnea.

Dr. William Kohler of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine stated “Police officers are obviously a very important group because they are there to protect us, and unfortunately, at times when they are distracted because of tiredness, they are at risk to themselves and others.”

Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with being overweight and about a third of the officers in the study had a BMI higher than 30. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the soft tissues of the mouth and throat relax during sleep and block the airway. The sleeper stops breathing for several seconds until the lack of oxygen causes a partial wakening to begin breathing again. The sleeper does not remember these episodes which can occur from a few to hundreds of times each night. The bed partner of the sleeper is also wakened frequently because of the loud snoring and gasping for breath that accompanies the disorder. Both partners feel exhausted the next day.

Untreated obstructive sleep apnea is associated with cardiovascular disease, stroke, weight gain and increased risk of accident. Treatment usually begins with CPAP but many patients find it difficult to tolerate sleeping with machines. Oral appliance therapy is proven to be an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea and is available in the Bethesda, MD area from Dr. Barnard Greenbaum.

Police officers are not the only ones that need a good nights sleep in order to perform their jobs. Contact us today at 301-530-3600 to schedule your consultation to see if you may be a candidate for oral appliance therapy.

December 15, 2011

Gotta “Go”? Might Be A Sign of Sleep Apnea

Filed under: Sleep Apnea/Snoring/CPAP Intolerant — Tags: , , , — admin @ 10:58 pm

Waking in the middle of the night because you have to “go”. The medical term for this is nocturia and research suggests that nighttime urination frequency can help doctors screen for sleep apnea. Nocturia and sleep apnea have been linked before but this is the first time researchers have sought to discover whether it can predict if someone suffers from sleep apnea.

The researchers looked at over one thousand patient charts from two New Mexico sleep centers. Data collected from the patients included nocturia, snoring, weight, sex and age. Snoring is typically a sign that someone may have sleep apnea but it turns out that self-reported nocturia was just about as accurate in predicting who would test positive for sleep apnea.

If you are waking in the morning feeling just as tired as when you went to sleep, if you snore or if you find yourself waking throughout the night to visit the bathroom you may suffer from sleep apnea. Treating your condition can give you back your energy and help you avoid the serious side effects that come with untreated sleep apnea such as high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

Oral appliance therapy treats obstructive sleep apnea without masks or hoses. A small, custom mouthpiece is worn during sleep and gently places the jaw in a position that keep the airway open during sleep. No more snoring and no more stoppages of breath.

Please contact Dr. Bernard Greenbaum’s Bethesda, MD office at 301-530-3600 today to find out more about oral appliance therapy for treating obstructive sleep apnea.

August 18, 2010

Oral Appliance Therapy from Dr. Greenbaum: A Comfortable Alterative to CPAP

Filed under: Sleep Apnea/Snoring/CPAP Intolerant — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 9:44 pm

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a potentially dangerous condition in which breathing repeatedly stops for periods of 10 seconds or more. If you suffer from OSA, a doctor may have prescribed a CPAP machine and mask to remedy your condition. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, and it’s a common treatment for sleep apnea. Many CPAP patients, however, simply can’t tolerate this therapy. Some dislike the noise, others find the mask uncomfortable, and still others object to the bulkiness of the device.

Customized Treatment for CPAP Intolerance

Bethesda sleep apnea dentist Dr. Bernard Greenbaum offers a comfortable alternative to CPAP: the SomnoDent, an oral appliance made by SomnoMed, a leader in dental sleep medicine. This clinically-proven treatment is non-invasive, easy to use, and effective. The SomnoDent sleep appliance is a small, thin oral device similar to an athletic mouthguard or orthodontic retainer. Dr. Greenbaum custom fits each patient’s oral appliance to ensure optimal fit and comfort.

The SomnoDent device holds the jaw forward to prevent the soft tissues at the back of the mouth from collapsing while you sleep – the cause of most mild to moderate sleep apnea, as well as snoring. Benefits of SomnoMed oral appliance therapy over CPAP include:

  • No noise

  • Made from flexible material that conforms to your mouth
  • Two separate pieces to let you speak, drink, and yawn
  • Non-bulky, streamlined design
  • Prevents teeth grinding, as well as OSA and snoring
  • Nothing to hook up
  • Easy to keep clean
  • Doesn’t limit your sleep positions

Comprehensive Care from Your Bethesda, Maryland Sleep Apnea Dentist
As a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), Dr. Greenbaum is uniquely qualified to treat patients with OSA and other sleep disorders. He recently attended the AADSM’s 19th Annual Meeting, where he attended meetings, clinical workshop, and postgraduate courses to further his knowledge of OSA and personalized treatment regimens. (Look for news from the conference in future blog posts!)

Dr. Greenbaum has practiced dentistry in Bethesda for over 25 years. He takes hundreds of hours of continuing education courses each year to provide our patients with the best of preventive, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry. Call our Bethesda, Maryland office today to schedule your appointment and discover the benefits of our comfortable CPAP alternative.

Sleep Apnea and Snoring

Filed under: Sleep Apnea/Snoring/CPAP Intolerant — Tags: , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:39 pm

Snoring Can Be Dangerous to Your Health

Snoring can deprive you and your partner of hours of valuable sleep that are vital for your body to refresh and restore itself. For example, snorers get into three times the amount of traffic accidents due to sleep deprivation. This deprivation can shorten your life span and cause you to function sub-optimally on a day to day basis. More importantly, did you know that snoring can limit the amount of oxygen your brain receives by 50% while sleeping?  It has been estimated that 45% of the population snore on a regular basis.

Snoring is a sign of abnormal breathing due to the fluttering of the soft tissues in the throat. These tissues can become so relaxed that they obstruct the airway into the lungs causing you to stop breathing. This condition is called “Sleep Apnea”. The word “Apnea” is a Greek word meaning “want of breath”. Many sleep apnea sufferers literally stop breathing dozens to hundreds of times in a night without any memory of having done so. Sleep apnea has been linked to cases of heart attack, stroke, hypertension and other dangerous conditions.

The most common treatment for sleep apnea is  Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) system. Although this system has successfully treated many people, some patients find it uncomfortable and are unable to comply with the treatment recommendations.

Whether you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea or your partner suspects that you may be a habitual snorer, Dr. Greenbaum’s office can help. We offer years of study and research in the field of sleep apnea. For the patient who suspects that she/he is a habitual snorer, Dr. Greenbaum will guide you through a preliminary questionnaire which will determine whether or not you should perform a Home Sleep Screening Study. Should your test results indicate sleep apnea, you will be referred to a sleep lab for an official diagnosis which can be covered by medical insurance.

If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and have tried using a CPAP but are not compliant, then your sleep apnea is NOT being treated properly. We offer a revolutionary alternative to CPAP users which includes a custom appliance that opens the airway and reduces snoring. This appliance is considerably more comfortable and much easier to travel with. Our patients love the comfort of the appliance and most importantly, love how well rested and good they feel from wearing it.

Warning Signs for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Filed under: Sleep Apnea/Snoring/CPAP Intolerant — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:33 pm

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the below list includes some of the most common warning signs for obstructive sleep apnea:

  • You normally feel tired even after a full night of sleep.
  • You snore loudly and often.
  • You make choking or snorting sounds during sleep.
  • You stop breathing during sleep.
  • You are overweight
  • You have experienced unexplained weight gain.
  • You are a man with a neck size of 17 inches or more.
  • You are a woman with a neck size of 16 inches or more.
  • You have high blood pressure.
  • You are a menopausal or postmenopausal woman.
  • You fall asleep while driving or during periods of daytime inactivity.
  • You have a family history of sleep apnea.

Snoring -Is it Dangerous to your Health?

Filed under: Sleep Apnea/Snoring/CPAP Intolerant — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:29 pm

Are you willing to admit that you are a snorer? Most people deny the act for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless the intense vibration and the loud sounds can wear on one’s nerves. Many a spouse loses hours of sleep due to the fact that their bed partner snores. Snoring can be an indicator of obstructive sleep apnea where you stop breathing for at least ten seconds at a time. OSA is dangerous to your overall health.

If you have questions regarding sleep disturbances and how you can successfully treat them, please give us a call at 301-530-3600. We will help you get on your way to a healthier nights sleep!

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