Focus on Airway and sleep and the dentist’s role in it
Many of you have asked us about why you have to complete the sleep/airway screening form when you come in for your dental appointments. In 2017, the American Dental Association had recommended that all dentists should start doing this screening since they are well positioned to evaluate the mouth, breathing and airway which in turn impacts sleep and your overall health. You can read this article here. Most other healthcare providers are not focused on this unless it is something the patient brings to their attention or their sleep related disordered breathing (SRDB) is so severe that it is causing major health problems. We want screening to be done to evaluate, educate, get you the care needed and hopefully prevent these issues. Many people know about sleep apnea, snoring, C-PAP’s but may not understand how proper sleep with patent airway affects their heart, brain, blood pressure and other parts of the body.
My interest in dental sleep medicine was piqued when I learnt about how poor sleep and airway issues were affecting children in the form of chronic illnesses, ADHD and longterm health problems in their adulthood. I wanted to prevent this for my own children. I have two teens who had been through two phases of orthodontics since they were 6 years old and had beautiful smiles as a result but I could still see that they had narrow constricted airways and worry about them suffering the same health issues that have even led to early death on their father’s side of the family. So I was on a mission to find out what I could do to help them, my patients and hopefully to help prevent these problems in other children from an early age.
We go beyond screening : educating our patients, painless laser treatment for snoring, oral appliances as an alternative for C-PAP’s, guide appliances and myofunctional therapy to promote proper jaw growth and airway development, frenectomy and airway-centric orthodontic treatment with clear aligners. So the next time you are in for your dental appointment, please take the time to complete the sleep questionnaire and bring to our attention any issues you may be having so that we can help.
Sleep. Breathe. Thrive.
Be well,
Dr Patel