TERRY WORK
A
SLEEP APNEA IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT IN THE DENTAL OFFICE
s a general practitioner , I find it difficult to keep up on the latest and greatest discoveries in the profession . Occasionally there are those discoveries which help dentists understand previously unexplained scenarios . The case in point is sleep apnea .
Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person stops breathing for 10 seconds or more while sleeping . This condition has several side effects . One of these side effects is nocturnal teeth grinding . As a dentist I have seen heavy wear on a patient ’ s teeth and only to have the patient tell me they don ’ t grind their teeth . I used to think gingival ditching was caused by aggressive brushing or a stiff tooth brush . We now know it is likely from grinding or clenching .
Over the course of my dental career I have made observations which my research and questioning has never really answered to my satisfaction . After attending a Dental Sleep Solutions seminar , I began to put the pieces of the puzzle together . Sleep apnea is a multifaceted problem which presents in many different ways . Often a patient may have
scalloped tongue , signs of bruxism , gingivitis or malocclusion . All of these can be related to sleep apnea .
As a dentist , we see many of these signs just on initial oral examination , but might not necessarily think “ sleep apnea ”. I ’ ve learned that diagnosing apnea can be an uncomplicated process . It begins with a simple questionnaire , followed by additional screening and evaluation methods including an at-home sleep test .
SLEEP APNEA IS A MULTIFACTED PROBLEM WHICH PRESENTS IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS .
TERRY WORK , DMD Private Practitioner and Implact Lecturer
Dental Works , Scottsdale , AZ
I often may want to take a scan of the patient in order to identify anatomical abnormalities and assess airway volume . In that case , I take a scan of patients with my OP300 3D imaging unit from Instrumentarium Dental™ . The OP300 can image the nasal area to evaluate anatomical abnormalities of the air passages such as deviated septa or turbinate malformations . I utilize the Airway Analysis tool in the Invivo5 3D software from Anatomage to measure the cross sectional area of the air passage in the naso and oral pharynx . These findings allow the medical doctor to determine whether these abnormalities need to be addressed .