Are not so silent nights driving you nuts?
The annoyance factor of trying to sleep with a loud snorer pales in comparison to the potential health consequences of the person living with untreated Sleep Apnea; which include depression, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of stroke and heart attack.
The results of a recent study in the Journal of the American Dental Association showed results that 16.1% of patients experienced orofacial pain. It turns out that this is almost the same number of patient visits to physicians for migraine or headache pain. Is there a connection to TMJ disorder?
The October 2015 Journal of the American Dental Association presented a study entitled Frequency of Orofacial Pain in Dental Patients. The study looked at 100 dental practices, chosen over a three-year period. The dentists took a random sample of their patients that were seen and screened them for current orofacial pain or any pain within the previous year.
We really can’t live without sleep. Lack of quality sleep is scientifically proven to cause weight gain, play havoc with your immune system and contribute to a list of potentially deadly diseases. Sleep Apnea could be the reason you are not getting quality sleep.
“I can get by on 4 hours of sleep,” some business travelers say, but really can they? Or are they in a state of chronic stupor from weeks of sleep deprivation?
Thanksgiving is a day set aside to focus on gratitude for all of the things in our lives. Some of the things we are grateful for are not the “easy” parts of our lives knowing that the things that stretch us tend to have the biggest impact. The “valleys” we all walk through are necessary to measure the “mountaintops” we experience as we journey through life. Without night, we could not appreciate the day.
I am thankful for my family, extended family, friends, those I work with and for all whose lives have crossed ours.
Pain related to TMJ disorder can flair up at any time; late at night, weekends, holidays or while traveling. So, it is good to have a few solutions to deal with the discomfort until you can see a professional for long-term relief.
Pain from an injured, damaged or over-used TMJ is often musculoskeletal in nature; the muscles tighten and cause pain such as headache, face pain or neck pain.
Orthotics vs Splints
It can be confusing when trying to understand the different ways to treat TMJ disorder. Different approaches to treatment require different appliances-splints or orthotics.
Regarding the use of intra-oral appliances, there are 2 different approaches to treat TMD and both use appliances. I’m often asked “What type of splint do you use?
Studies continue in an effort to treat tic disorders, or Tourettes, without the use of drugs. It is thought that compression caused by TMD contributes to tics often seen in patients with Tourettes. There may not be pain associated with the TMJ, which may cause this possible issue to be overlooked.
My sister recently became interim chair for the Tourettes Association and asked me what I knew about reports that a “splint” can be effective treatment for some Tourettes sufferers.
Chronically sleep deprived children often exhibit the same behavior as a children with ADHD. As a result, children and teens can be diagnosed with ADHD or ADD when the real problem stems from a sleep disorder. Get a sleep evaluation and a dental evaluation by a someone trained in sleep apnea and TMJ disorder if your child exhibits the symptoms listed below.
We regularly post information about the negative consequences of sleep deprivation due to Sleep Apnea. But with the start of school for a lot of our clients, this is timely information about why your teenager may be so cranky. It’s not just Algebra.
High school students and their parents constantly quibble over waking up early for school or, by noon on weekends, I remember how hard it was to get them going for school.
Often there are dental conditions that may indicate a patient is dealing with sleep apnea. If you are evaluated by a dentist that is experienced in Dental Sleep medicine, these conditions will signal for further testing.
Dental sleep medicine is an area of dental practice that focuses on the use of oral appliance therapy to treat sleep-disordered breathing, including snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.
