Sleep dentistry can encompass many aspects of dental care. It is a branch of dentistry that works to help people have better, less interrupted sleep throughout the night. A person’s sleep may be less than ideal for reasons ranging from snoring to sleep apnea; whatever the cause, Lifepoint Dental Partners in Ames, Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown and West Des Moines have experienced dentists who can help remedy these issues.(Sleep dentistry can encompass many aspects of dental care. It is a branch of dentistry that works to help people have better, less interrupted sleep throughout the night. A person’s sleep may be less than ideal for reasons ranging from snoring to sleep apnea; whatever the cause, Lifepoint Dental Partners in Ames, Ankeny, Cedar Rapids, Marshalltown and West Des Moines have experienced dentists who can help remedy these issues.(oilless air compressor)
Sleep Apnea – what is it?

The sleep disorder that happens when airflow is reduced or even stopped while an individual is sleeping is called sleep apnea. The reduction in airflow can be caused by sickness or by an obstruction in the airway. Whatever the reason, this loss of breath can be a tiresome and potentially dangerous occurrence. When airflow is diminished blood oxygen levels decrease, which in turn prompts a signal to be sent to the brain that there is a serious problem and the body needs to be woken up. An individual will then wake up just a little in order to start breathing again; this cycle will continue throughout the night, for every single night until the sleep apnea issue is met with a remedy. One type of sleep apnea is Obstructive Sleep Apnea – people who suffer from this have disrupted sleep, a proclivity to cardiovascular problems and daytime sleepiness, and low blood oxygen levels. Another condition related to sleep apnea, which falls somewhere between issues with snoring and full-blown sleep apnea, is Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. This syndrome shows similar symptoms to Obstructive Sleep Apnea but tends to show a negative result when tested against sleep apnea.
What can I do about my Sleep Apnea?

At one time the CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine was the only option available for people suffering from sleep apnea. And while some patients do find this method effective, CPAP has particular issues that make it unusable for the vast majority of patients. One of the most apparent problems results in extremely low compliance with using the machine – it is uncomfortable and requires a lot of pressure from the patient to keep the throat passage open.

Although oral appliance therapy is a relatively new alternative to traditional CPAP machine therapy, oral appliances in sleep dentistry have quickly become recognized as a viable and more comfortable option to the CPAP machine.

Lifepoint Dental Partners custom fits and crafts each oral appliance to fit our patient’s mouth exactly. The appliances look similar to a sports mouth guard, generally have high compliance rates (as in patients find them comfortable enough to wear nightly, ensuring the efficacy of the appliance for sleep apnea) and can also be used for patients with snoring issues that don’t quite fall under the category of obstructive sleep apnea.
What types of CPAP alternative oral appliances are available?

Lifepoint Dental has two choices for patients seeking an oral appliance as an alternative to the CPAP machine:

Tongue Retaining Appliances use a suction bulb to hold the tongue in a forward position, preventing the back of the tongue from collapsing and essentially obstructing the airway during sleep.

The second option is the Mandibular Repositioning Appliance, which moves the lower jaw forward slightly to ensure the patient’s airway remains open while sleeping. This device stimulates the muscles in the tongue to make it more rigid, which indirectly forces the tongue forward. The Mandibular Repositioning Appliance gently holds the mouth in a stable position so it remains closed throughout the night.
Snoring solutions

While not necessarily an indicator of obstructive sleep apnea, snoring still disrupts the sleep quality of the individual snoring as well as their partner.

Snoring generally occurs because a person’s airway is obstructed – by their tongue, by excessive weight gain, because they suffer from sleep apnea or for any number of other reasons. Throughout the day our airways are kept open by the muscles in our throats, however when we sleep those muscles relax and can no longer keep an obstructive issues at bay. The snoring sound while sleeping begins when the back of the tongue (uvula) and other soft tissues within the throat “flap” as air passes over them.

While many people think snoring is a slight issue that should be dealt with rather than treated by a dentist, it can actually be a serious medical problem and has links to other medical issues. For example, snoring has ties to increased rates of ADHD in children, an increase of Type II Diabetes in adults, and the development of hardened blockages in the carotid arteries of men who snore.

While initially created to help patients with obstructive sleep apnea, oral appliance therapy has also become an effective treatment for individuals who snore. Lifepoint Dental Partners will custom fit and craft an oral appliance for patients suffering from disruptive snoring.

Another treatment option available from Lifepoint Dental is the Pillar Procedure. It is a minimally invasive treatment choice that can be used for both snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. The Pillar Procedure can be performed in the dentist office and only local anesthesia is needed; tiny implants are placed into the soft palate muscle during the procedure with the intent to prevent the “flapping” that occurs during sleep which blocks the airway.
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Sleep Apnea – what is it?

The sleep disorder that happens when airflow is reduced or even stopped while an individual is sleeping is called sleep apnea. The reduction in airflow can be caused by sickness or by an obstruction in the airway. Whatever the reason, this loss of breath can be a tiresome and potentially dangerous occurrence. When airflow is diminished blood oxygen levels decrease, which in turn prompts a signal to be sent to the brain that there is a serious problem and the body needs to be woken up. An individual will then wake up just a little in order to start breathing again; this cycle will continue throughout the night, for every single night until the sleep apnea issue is met with a remedy. One type of sleep apnea is Obstructive Sleep Apnea – people who suffer from this have disrupted sleep, a proclivity to cardiovascular problems and daytime sleepiness, and low blood oxygen levels. Another condition related to sleep apnea, which falls somewhere between issues with snoring and full-blown sleep apnea, is Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. This syndrome shows similar symptoms to Obstructive Sleep Apnea but tends to show a negative result when tested against sleep apnea.
What can I do about my Sleep Apnea?

At one time the CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) machine was the only option available for people suffering from sleep apnea. And while some patients do find this method effective, CPAP has particular issues that make it unusable for the vast majority of patients. One of the most apparent problems results in extremely low compliance with using the machine – it is uncomfortable and requires a lot of pressure from the patient to keep the throat passage open.

Although oral appliance therapy is a relatively new alternative to traditional CPAP machine therapy, oral appliances in sleep dentistry have quickly become recognized as a viable and more comfortable option to the CPAP machine.

Lifepoint Dental Partners custom fits and crafts each oral appliance to fit our patient’s mouth exactly. The appliances look similar to a sports mouth guard, generally have high compliance rates (as in patients find them comfortable enough to wear nightly, ensuring the efficacy of the appliance for sleep apnea) and can also be used for patients with snoring issues that don’t quite fall under the category of obstructive sleep apnea.
What types of CPAP alternative oral appliances are available?

Lifepoint Dental has two choices for patients seeking an oral appliance as an alternative to the CPAP machine:

Tongue Retaining Appliances use a suction bulb to hold the tongue in a forward position, preventing the back of the tongue from collapsing and essentially obstructing the airway during sleep.

The second option is the Mandibular Repositioning Appliance, which moves the lower jaw forward slightly to ensure the patient’s airway remains open while sleeping. This device stimulates the muscles in the tongue to make it more rigid, which indirectly forces the tongue forward. The Mandibular Repositioning Appliance gently holds the mouth in a stable position so it remains closed throughout the night.
Snoring solutions

While not necessarily an indicator of obstructive sleep apnea, snoring still disrupts the sleep quality of the individual snoring as well as their partner.

Snoring generally occurs because a person’s airway is obstructed – by their tongue, by excessive weight gain, because they suffer from sleep apnea or for any number of other reasons. Throughout the day our airways are kept open by the muscles in our throats, however when we sleep those muscles relax and can no longer keep an obstructive issues at bay. The snoring sound while sleeping begins when the back of the tongue (uvula) and other soft tissues within the throat “flap” as air passes over them.

While many people think snoring is a slight issue that should be dealt with rather than treated by a dentist, it can actually be a serious medical problem and has links to other medical issues. For example, snoring has ties to increased rates of ADHD in children, an increase of Type II Diabetes in adults, and the development of hardened blockages in the carotid arteries of men who snore.

While initially created to help patients with obstructive sleep apnea, oral appliance therapy has also become an effective treatment for individuals who snore. Lifepoint Dental Partners will custom fit and craft an oral appliance for patients suffering from disruptive snoring.

Another treatment option available from Lifepoint Dental is the Pillar Procedure. It is a minimally invasive treatment choice that can be used for both snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. The Pillar Procedure can be performed in the dentist office and only local anesthesia is needed; tiny implants are placed into the soft palate muscle during the procedure with the intent to prevent the “flapping” that occurs during sleep which blocks the airway.(Dental Implant Equipment)