Sleep Disorder Dentistry

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Awayes has recently obtained his Diplomate of the American Board of Craniofacial Dental Sleep Medicine, earned thru advanced training and credentialing.

Sleep disorders are on the rise and the medical problems associated with them are increasing and becoming difficult to control. One of the most common sleep disorders is Sleep Apnea. Divided into 3 types: Obstructive which is the more common, Central and Mixed. Central and mixed Apneas are typically treated by the use of CPAP devices that are the gold standard in sleep disorder breathing. Obstructive Sleep Apnea of OSA can have multiple treatment options. For mild to moderate OSA with AHI of 5-30, Oral appliance therapy or “OAT” is considered by the literature to be the first treatment option recommended to patients. For Moderate to severe, the CPAP remains the most effective way to treat OSA. For some patients with severe OSA, OAT can be used as alternative if intolerance to CPAP will result in non-use and therefore lack of control on the sleep condition. OAT can reduce apnea events to a more manageable level in severe OSA and can even be combined with CPAP to allow decrease and pressure settings and therefore increase potential use of CPAP by Patients.

Qualified and trained dentist in the treatment of OSA with OAT and management of this therapy can greatly increase chance of controlling other health concerns in patients like cardiovascular disease and diabetes as well as treatment of chronic pain. Chronic pain throughout the body can be traced back to sleep disorders from over use of head and neck muscles that should be at rest to toxic byproducts of chemical breakdown of carbohydrates that properly metabolized in deep sleep.

Medical diagnosis is needed and coordination with our office can help bring better health to your patients. Because of the extreme complexity of OSA treatment, a simple page on a web site may not be enough to explain it all. If you wish to visit our office for a more detailed explanation, we would welcome you to come in and tour our facility and examine the equipment and methods used.