More To It Than Just Snoring…Hmm

The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” BRANFIELD

More To It Than Just Snoring…Hmm

Hello again. I hope that you are well.  Well some weather at last!! About time eh, May was good generally and May bank Holiday was superb. We caught the Tour de Yorkshire in Filey.

So, What’s More To It Than Snoring?         

  
               

In the last few articles I’ve been going on about snoring and how we can help with non-invasive measures using lasers and Mandibular Advancement Devices (more to follow on this).  Snoring has obvious problems associated with it as it causes a right row and can be anti-social and cause problems with sleeping partners. 

We have also touched on Obstructive Sleep Apnoea when breathing actually stops and then there are great gasps for air.  This is really not healthy and can put strain on the heart.  In this case a sleep study is needed and possibly CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) at bedtime.  However, the compliance with these things is generally poor even though it is the gold standard treatment for OSA.                                            

The Less Obvious Stuff

Sleep medicine and airway medicine is the up and coming thing.  It was highlighted on the TV just this week about how many more people are experiencing poor sleep and are constantly tired during the day.  I was horrified to see that loads of school kids had to have caffeine before school, as they were so tired.  Now this is a different thing to do with mobile phones taken to bed and blue light.


There is a condition called Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome. This is when the upper airway collapses causing resistance to airflow.  OSA is the extreme,  snoring we all know about, but it can be less obvious and affect many of us.  Some snorers sleep great.  Lucky so and so.  This is thought to be because the sensors at the back of the throat have been beaten up that much by vibration that they no longer fire and wake you up with a snore.  Now for people that do not snore or only really snore after alcohol these sensors can be stimulated when you get close to a snore and airway is about to collapse and you wake up for no apparent reason. 

This is a so-called arousal from sleep.  It can interrupt the normal cycle of sleep and disturb hormone balance.  This can cause tiredness as well a load of other stuff that will list in a bit.  When the airway collapses a bit it can create a negative pressure that can suck up fine droplets of acid from the stomach that can reach the throat and nose and even the sinus. 

This is different to heartburn or GastroEsophogeal Reflux Disease (GERD).  It is called Laryngo Pharyngeal Reflux Disease (LPRD) and can lead to symptoms of post-nasal drip, sore throat, cough, and even chronic sinusitis.  This can go hand in hand with a poor night’s sleep. If you are interested a great book is Sleep Interrupted by Steven Y. Park, M.D. (an ENT specialist who came across this paradigm shift in thinking how we treat some common ailments by getting to the cause, i.e. the airway). 

According to Dr. Park this is a list of some of the ailments/symptoms that UARS can be associated with but limited to: the nasal stuff mentioned above, hoarseness, throat clearing, teeth grinding/clenching and Tempero-Mandibular Dysfunction (TMD), heartburn (GERD), cold hands, postural hypotension (dizzy when stand up quickly), depression and anxiety, migraine headaches, chronic fatigue syndrome, and weight gain (which compounds the situation.  He even feels that ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper-activity Disorder) is associated with UARS.  It’s all interesting stuff. Or is it just me?  Some top tips next time as run out of space today. I was on a role, eh?

Well Done

Hull City stayed up.  Onwards and upwards lads.

Final preparations this weekend for my presentation at an international laser medicine conference in Slovenia.  My colleague at the practice and gum expert, Ilay, is the first speaker at the Dental Programme.  Wish us luck.

Until next time.   Take care and be good. 

Here’s to a good night sleep

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 25 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’ humanitarian work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk