Sleep Apnea can damage your general health

Snoring can seem like an everyday problem; however it’s important to know that snowing can be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your health…

Sleep apnea is a serious condition which can lead to many detrimental effects on your general health. Snoring is merely a symptom and the most common signifier which should be paid thorough attention to. If you or your partner snores it is important that you monitor your own or their sleeping habits to ensure their ongoing health. Sleep apnea can lead to dental health disorders as well as others, that’s why it’s important to seek the assistance of a doctor that specializes in this area as well as your dentist at Michelle Enmark, DDS located in Sacramento.

The basics of sleep apnea…

Sleep apnea comes in mainly two forms, one being Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and the other being a rare form where the nerves that operate breathing do not respond as intended. OSA is the most common form of sleep apnea and it is caused by tissue blocking the air passage in the throat. This can be triggered by excess tissue or tissue that becomes too relaxed during sleep which causes the source of oxygen to be cut off. If you or your spouse experiences this you will notice their breathing will be more sporadic than normal and they may not breathe for up to a minute.

Oxygen during sleep is extremely important as oxygen enables correct cognitive function as well as restores the body and mind after a long day of thinking. If you fail to receive enough oxygen while you sleep you will feel fatigued the following day and more stressed than usual which can eventually take its toll on your mind leading to things such as:

• An inability to concentrate for extended periods of time
• Problems with cognitive development and physical growth
• An inability to perform at school or work
• Hostile behavior or an angry personality with a short fuse
• Mouth-breathing 

Sleep apnea can lead to a number of problematic and detrimental conditions

Sleep apnea can cause general morbidity as well as more complex conditions such as:

• Depression
• High blood pressure diabetes 
• Heart complications such as heart attacks and irregular beats
• Strokes

These complications are extremely dire and are the reason why you need to alert a doctor immediately if you notice any signs of sleep apnea. As dentists we are interested in your general health, however our expertise lay in the mouth area which is where we will begin your treatment.

Here at Michelle Enmark, DDS in Sacramento we utilize Somnomed which is an oral sleep apnea appliance that looks much like a normal mouth guard which you might wear during a game of hockey. This guard is especially designed to correct your oral posture which can stop your tissue from blocking off your airway. All of our patients prefer this option to the much more obtrusive CPAP appliance which looks much like a gas mask and therefore can be much more difficult to sleep with.

If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea by a professional you will be able to consult with one of our dental professionals to ensure you get the treatment you need to be on the way to restored health.

To book a sleep apnea consultation appointment at Michelle Enmark, DDS in Sacramento please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

SomnoMED, the Alternative Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea!

If you have found the CPAP method uncomfortable, now you can wake up to a brilliant alternative

Sleep apnea is a debilitating disease and can sometimes be fatal. Sleep apnea is similar to snoring, but whereas snoring is only a partial closure of the back of your throat, sleep apnea is the complete closure of the back of your throat, causing a lack of oxygen that results in the brain kick-starting the breathing process. This often results in you constantly waking throughout the night. This kind of stop-start breathing can be detrimental to your health because with prolonged apnea (not breathing) the amount of oxygen in vital organs such as the brain, lungs and kidney can drop so low that cellular damage can occur. This is called hypoxia and can lead to:

• Stroke: 40-80% of stroke suffers also suffer from Sleep Apnea
• Heart attack or heart failure: having sleep apnea exposes you to four times the risk of a heart attack.
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Severe blood pressure elevation

On top of all this sleep apnea is being seen as a leading cause of motor vehicle accidents.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) suffers may experience hundreds of apnea episodes a night and, if they live alone or sleep alone are unlikely to remember the episodes. In fact, for those who sleep alone, they may not know they suffer from OSA even after many years.

At Michelle Enmark, DDS in Sacramento our specialist trained dentists are here to help you tackle your sleep apnea…

OSA is a serious medical condition that can severely impact your life. If you display symptoms of OSA it is imperative that you visit us at Michelle Enmark, DDS in Sacramento for a diagnosis. Some of these symptoms are:

• Loud snoring
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Reduced resistance to infection

SomnoMED vs. CPAP…

Usually, a patient with Sleep Apnea is often at first provided a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine as the first step in treatment. But there are a lot of patients who are unable to deal with the unpleasantness of wearing a CPAP mask all night. Among the reasons patients dislike the CPAP are:

• The mask intrudes on intimacy that occurs when wearing it to bed.
• Frequent awakenings from mask discomfort—nearly as many as the sleep apnea itself.
• Noise emitted by the machine.
• Dry mouth or nasal congestion.
• Feelings of claustrophobia.
• Accordingly, it’s no surprise that less than 30% of patients actually use CPAP as prescribed.
• The serious problems from Sleep Apnea quickly return.

How does this device work?

The SomnoDent® MAS is much more effective comfortable than existing MAS devices: for the treatment of Sleep Apnea the SomnoDent® MAS is worn throughout sleep to uphold the patency of the upper airway by increasing its dimensions and reducing collapsibility.

This device is custom-made oral device comprised of an upper and lower dental plates containing unique patented fin coupling component to keep-up mandible protrusion.
This mechanism is the key difference to other oral devices because it allows the patient to maintain regular mouth opening and closing while wearing the SomnoDent® MAS.

At Michelle Enmark, DDS in Sacramento we understand that each patient is an individual whose needs differ from the next person…

Therefor we offer a number of customizable additions to the SomnoDent® MAS. Such additions include:

• Elastic retention for mouth breathers
• an anterior ramp for bruxing

Worn in the mouth like any other orthodontic appliance during sleep, oral appliances prevent the soft tissue from collapsing and interrupting normal breathing patterns.

For more information on SomnoDent® MAS, or to book an appointment at our conveniently located dental practice in Sacramento, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Recipe for a Perfectly Beautiful Smile

Beauty in all things is a matter of proportions, and when it comes to a beautiful smile there are a range of factors that influence its esthetic appeal…

When conducting a cosmetic smile consultation, our dentists will assess a range of factors to help develop a custom treatment plan to craft the perfectly beautiful smile that you desire. With a keen eye for esthetics and an appreciation for the meticulous detail it takes to achieve a natural looking beautiful smile, Drs. Michelle Enmark, DDS are the ideal choice for you and your unique needs.

Factors that will be taken into consideration during your smile consultation include:

1) Symmetry

Symmetrical front teeth play a large role in determining the beauty of a smile.

2) Horizontal Alignment

The bottom edges of teeth are ideally aligned along a parallel plane.

3) Smile Line

A beautiful smile line occurs when the edges of your lower teeth are parallel to that of your lower lip.

4) Gum Line

An ideal gum line should be straight and parallel to that of the upper lip line, maximizing the amount of tooth revealed when you smile.

5) Smile Width

A broad smile which reveals both the front and the back teeth is considered more esthetically pleasing and inviting than that of a narrow smile.

6) Tooth Proportions

The ideal proportions of each tooth should be a width ¾ of any given tooth’s height.

7) Lips

Your lips are the frame for your beautiful smile, and can be enhanced with the use of dermal fillers or makeup.

At our dental practice located in Sacramento, we have a range of tailored cosmetic dental treatments that can be used to craft your ideal smile including veneers, tooth whitening treatment, rapid orthodontic treatment, crowns and dental implants.