I recently attended and spoke at the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) 23rd Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. I’ve been attending these annual meetings for many years. Here are a few interesting bullet points from this year’s meeting:

•  The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in firefighters, police officers and truck drivers is believed to be about 25-33% with about 85% of these undiagnosed! This number doesn’t compare to the 2-4% suspected OSA documented from quite outdated info. Unfortunately, if all the suspected truck drivers were being evaluated and taken off the roads until successful apnea treatment was given, our economy would suffer. This has delayed federal guidelines. For more information, check out this link:

http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2013/10/16/Obamaquietlysignsbillrequiringsleepdisorderrulenotguidance.aspx

• Living with apnea is similar to other chronic conditions and deserves constant attention. Healthy life changes in eating and exercise can only help long term outcomes.

• Sleep issues  are a top contributor to the onset of depression.

• We are getting closer to having the availability of compliance-monitoring chips that can be embedded into oral appliances. Once passed through the lengthy government approval systems, these may dramatically impact many OSA sufferers especially in patients such as truck drivers, etc. Some of this technology has been available already in Europe since 2011.

• I’m excited about a new oral device on the market and will try to get more info once available. The MicrO2 removable and changeable trays made at different distances eliminating the need for screwdrivers and other somewhat challenging adjustment hardware is exciting – so clear and light and barely noticeable!

• Teeth grinding or bruxism continues to show a link with OSA although many more studies are needed to confirm current views.

• It has been reported that even with the lowest definitions of compliance, CPAP compliance is approximately 50%.

• A new type of surgery for apnea patients is on the horizon. It is an implantable hypoglossal nerve stimulator. It will be reserved at this point for select cases of apnea sufferers who have failed oral appliance therapy and CPAP therapy. More information on this coming in the future.
• For kids at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea, Type ”A” and Type “B” kids tend to show different patterns of symptoms. Type “A” tend to have attention issues, no sleepiness/the latter – more daytime sleepiness. Even the slightest apnea scores are significant for kids and treatment should be considered. Neurocognitive impairment delay can occur. If left untreated, the following can result: behavioral disturbances, learning deficits and metabolic changes. Most importantly these changes may not be completely reversible. Bottom-line: the sooner kids with suspected apnea are treated, the better.

Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois, a premiere snoring and apnea treatment center in Naperville, has been providing the CPAP alternative treatment of oral appliance therapy for over 15 years successfully. We are extremely passionate about helping individuals that have been struggling with CPAP therapy in Naperville, Lisle, Aurora, Bolingbrook and surrounding Chicago suburbs. For more information on this physician-recommended treatment option, visit www.TiredOfSnoring.com or call us at (630) 369-5508.

Can you get snoring treated and paid for with medical insurance? The quick answer – it depends.

You have options to get snoring treated and paid for

Snoring is often a sign of a more serious condition called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  During obstructive sleep apnea, pauses or stoppages in breathing during sleep lead to oxygen starvation to vital organs. Treatments for OSA are most often covered under medical insurance guideline for reimbursements.  Some insurances may have a “minimum” amount of severity that they will begin coverage.

We have also seen (although far less common) some medical carriers have benefit coverage for upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) or primary snoring depending on the severity of symptoms. These symptoms may include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). UARS and primary snoring are conditions that during a sleep evaluation patients did not “score” enough to reach the mild diagnosis range.  These patients may still in fact have apnea events (stoppages or pauses in breathing), just not enough to reach that number which classifies them as “mild” OSA.

Our practice has over 17 years of experience in workup with snoring and apnea patients.  We would be more than happy to screen your oral cavity, discuss possible treatment options and refer you to appropriate medical providers as needed to get your snoring resolved.

Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois, a premiere snoring and apnea treatment center in Naperville, has been providing the CPAP alternative treatment of oral appliance therapy for over 17 years successfully.  We are extremely passionate in helping individuals that have been struggling with CPAP therapy in Naperville, Lisle, Aurora, Bolingbrook and surrounding Chicago suburbs.  For more information on this physician-recommended treatment option. visit www.TiredOfSnoring.com or call us at (630) 369-5508.

Recently I was diagnosed and told I need CPAP for my obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Can I use Oral Appliance Therapy and have a dental mouth device made instead?

Oral Appliance Therapy

Oral appliance therapy (OAT) has evolved over the past 30 years now reaching acceptable levels as a very good choice of treatment for many apnea sufferers.

The standard of care for oral appliances as set by sleep-trained physicians include oral appliances as an acceptable treatment choice for those:

• With mild to moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea
• That prefer oral devices to CPAP
• With severe OSA unable to tolerate CPAP
• That have failed attempts of weight loss and positional therapy

There are other factors that need to be evaluated when OAT is contemplated. These may include how sleepy an individual is during the day as a result of apnea, or how low oxygen dipped during the patient’s sleep test. For many, CPAP can give them immediate relief of excessive daytime sleepiness. After their symptoms have been resolved, they may want to then seek oral appliance therapy.

Many successful CPAP users also choose to have oral appliances made as an option for traveling even if they are compliant and able to wear the CPAP.

Advantages of oral appliances over CPAP include:

• less cumbersome
• easy to travel with
• no hoses and cords
• no mask problems
• no facial irritation
• no sinus issues

To find out if you are a good candidate for oral appliance therapy, ask your sleep physician or primary care doctor about it. You can choose to come in for a screening and discussion here at Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois, and we can help direct you with further details.

Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois, a premiere snoring and apnea treatment center in Naperville has been providing the CPAP alternative treatment of oral appliance therapy for over 17 years successfully. We are extremely passionate in helping individuals that have been struggling with CPAP therapy in Naperville, Lisle, Aurora, Bolingbrook and surrounding Chicago suburbs. For more information on this physician-recommended treatment option visit www.TiredOfSnoring.com or call us at (630) 369-5508.

I have found that very few of my new patients have ever discussed the details of their snoring or apnea diagnosis with their physicians. Going over the details of my patients’ diagnoses is one of my favorite parts of my consultation. Seeing them really grasp the importance of getting treatment, helps me continue with my with my passion for sleep apnea awareness and education.

The American Sleep Apnea Association has lots of valuable info on snoring and apnea. I especially like their video, which vividly describes the process of someone needing and finally getting help in the world of snoring and apnea. Feeling tired throughout the day? Snoring often? Restless sleep? Just watch the video on how things can change. http://www.sleepapnea.org/treat.html

Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois, a premiere snoring and apnea treatment center in Naperville has been providing the CPAP alternative treatment of oral therapy for over 15 years successfully. We are extremely passionate in helping individuals that have been struggling with CPAP therapy.

One of the most exciting lectures I attended at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine included that of Combination Therapies for OSA.  Unfortunately, not every case of oral appliance therapy is a success.  It’s always  been difficult for me to tell a patient that their oral appliance therapy has not been successful, especially if that patient has already attempted CPAP therapy with poor results of tolerance. Relatively ‘new’ in the oral device arena attempts to bridge both oral device together with custom made CPAP masks. Although the appearance of these once in place are not much ‘more attractive’ than traditional CPAP masks, these can often result in better seals.  Together adjoining them are mouth pieces that are customized and attached to the CPAP mask.  This “combined” treatment may make it possible for those that are somewhat tolerant of CPAP but not fully successful with oral device therapy.  Although still in its early stage of development, this type of ‘combined treatment’ may give some future hope to apnea sufferers that have not had successful results with both types of treatment independently.

Dental Sleep and TMD Center of Illinois, a premiere snoring and apnea treatment center in Naperville, has been providing the CPAP alternative treatment of oral appliance therapy for over 15 years successfully. We are extremely passionate in helping individuals that have been struggling with CPAP therapy in Naperville, Lisle, Aurora, Bolingbrook and surrounding Chicago suburbs. For more information on this physician recommended treatment option, visit www.TiredOfSnoring.com or call us at (630) 369-5508.