Everyone deserves a relaxing, good night's rest. For patients with sleep apnea, that doesn't happen. The most common type of sleep apnea, called obstructive sleep apnea, occurs when the soft palate collapses and causes a person to stop breathing for 10 second or more at a time. Some patients have central sleep apnea, which happens when the brain forgets to tell your body to breathe during sleep.
When you have sleep apnea, these episodes of not breathing can happen more than 30 times a night, which means you often wake up more tired than when you went to bed. Besides leaving you exhausted, sleep apnea has also been linked to more serious health issues, including acid reflux, diabetes, high blood pressure, weight gain, and memory loss. Approximately one in four adults experience sleep apnea, and you become more prone to this problem as you age.
We want you to get the rest you deserve, so Dr. Davey or Dr. Wheeler will perform a through evaluation, which may include a sleep study. If your dentist confirms sleep apnea, he may recommend an oral appliance. This custom mouth piece pushes your lower jaw slightly forward to keep the airway open while you sleep.
What do powdered fruit, talc, honey, dried
flowers, mice and lizard livers have in common? They have all
been ingredients in ancient toothpaste and powder. Yum.
Attention Chocolate Lovers…Many dentists
agree raisins can cause more tooth decay than chocolate. Sticky
foods such as raisins and dried fruits can stay on the teeth
longer and develop more decay.
According to a study at the University of
Connecticut, too much toothpaste early in life is responsible
for more than 70% of fluorosis cases (staining or mottling of
tooth enamel that develops when children swallow fluoridated
toothpaste). Although this problem is only cosmetic, it is recommended
children under six only use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste
and be reminded to spit it out after brushing.
