B. Gail Denko, DMD PC, Dental Sleep Medicine. Specializing in the treatment of patients with snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.
“Anyone can escape into sleep, we are all geniuses when we dream, the butcher's the poet's equal there.”
Emile M. Ciora
Obstructive Sleep Apnea / EFFECTS
EFFECTS OF SLEEP APNEA.
This roller coaster sleep pattern leads to a loss 
of energy, concentration, productivity, and an inability to stay awake during less active tasks like reading, watching television, and driving. In serious cases, the continuous oxygen deprivation caused by sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and even sudden death. There may be a genetic component to this disorder as it often occurs within families.
What can be done to reduce or cure sleep apnea? In less-severe cases, weight loss and a reduction in alcohol and other sedative use before bedtime has been a very successful remedy. Sleep experts also recommend that people with sleep apnea should not sleep on their backs; sometimes sewing a tennis ball into the back of a night- shirt can prevent this from occurring. In 
more serious cases like yours, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines blow air through a mask into the body during sleep. Although this treatment has also helped many people, some cannot tolerate this method, and may benefit from oral devices that change the position of mouth structures during sleep.
Seeking treatment for sleep apnea usually involves visiting a sleep lab where heart, blood oxygen levels, and other vital signs are monitored by professionals. For more information on sleep apnea and resources for help, you can write the National Sleep Foundation at 1367 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.
It is good to hear your acknowledgment of improvement with the aid of CPAP, and your discomfort and fears are certainly understandable. If you haven't done so already, Alice suggests discussing these issue with your health care provider, experts at these agencies, or a counselor. Your ability to cope with this illness for all of these years gives new meaning to the word, patience.
Dentists play an important role in the team approach to the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.
Physicians, dentists, psychologists, and respiratory therapists all pool their knowledge to treat each patient appropriately and effectively.
Dentists who are specifically trained in aspects of sleep medicine and have a command of multiple appliance modalities are of great help to physicians in treating patients with sleep disordered breathing problems.
AVALABLE OFFICE HOURS:
Monday – Friday
8:30 A.M. – 2:30 P.M.
In Massachusetts Call:
617-964-4028
or click here
In Indiana Call:
317.842.9866
The National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, can provide you with sleep education materials. As well as publications on heart, lung and blood research:
Two Rockledge Center, Suite 7024, 6701Rockledge Drive, MSC 7920, Betesda, MD 20892-7920
(P)301.435.0199 /
(F) 301.480.3451
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/ncsdr/
Information about sleep disorders may be obtained from NHLBI:
NHLBI Information Center
P. O. Box 30105, Bethesda, MD 20824-0105
(P) 301.251.1222 / (F) 301.251.122
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/