Medical Insights

by Jamison Spencer, DMD, MS Now I know that your knee jerk reaction will be “absolutely not!” but perhaps bear with me for a minute. As I write this we’re going through “a little crisis.” Lots of my colleagues are closed down, other than perhaps seeing dental emergencies. While some initially rationalized, “hey, sleep apnea IS an emergency” the Governor of their state, and their dental association and board, didn’t tend to think so. But patients with various TMJ disorders …

Should I add TMD care to my DSM practice? Read More »

Less Adjustments and Less Forces by Barry Glassman, DMD, and Don Malizia, DDS In terms of preventing major cardiovascular accidents, the use of oral appliance therapy (OAT) has been shown to be as effective as CPAP use in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OAT effectiveness has been demonstrated as potentially effective for all levels of OSA severity – mild, moderate, and severe.1 Positive airway pressure, in its many forms, has long been heralded as the “gold standard” of …

Why Use an Anterior Only Stop with Oral Appliance Therapy? Read More »

  by Michael Flanell, RDH, MBA  Athletes continually try to perform better and break records with their athletic abilities. In their pursuit for personal accomplishments, they dream of winning medals for themselves, their teams, and their countries as well as becoming part of professional organizations. What if small changes in how an athlete breathes could support greater athletic performance? Learning to breathe properly may, in fact, make the difference between winning and losing. In athletic competitions, astute observers will notice …

The Athlete’s Secret Ingredient: The Power of Nasal Breathing Read More »

  by Dr. John E. Remmers As a life-long physiologist, physician, and innovator in sleep medicine, I find the recent statistics from the Lancet deeply troubling. With close to one billion people worldwide1 suffering from mild to extreme obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), it is our job, as sleep practitioners, to step in and help these people sleep and breathe. Over the past 20 years, we’ve seen the exponential rise of oral appliance therapy (OAT) for treating OSA. As a sleep …

Successful Oral Appliance Therapy Should Not Be a Guessing Game Read More »

by Warren Schlott, DDS One of the most common complaints of men who sleep poorly is that they have an urge or a need to use the restroom many times during the night. This can lead to sleep fragmentation and excessive daytime sleepiness. Most often the cause is an enlarged prostate, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). While this condition is most often treated by an urologist, the sleep dentist should be aware of this condition as treating underlying …

Sleep and the Growing and Going Problem Read More »

by Paul A. Henny, DDS We all breathe through our mouth part of the time. This is because mouth-breathing is necessary when we are exercising, working strenuously, under threat, or have a cold or sinus infection. These brief periods of mouth-breathing help us adjust oxygen flow to our body during periods of stress and challenge. This represents a proper use of our upper airway. At all other times however, mouth-breathing represents a dysfunctional use of our upper airway. In other …

Five Reasons to Consider Taping Your Mouth at Night Read More »