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What’s the big deal about a little snoring during the night? Or feeling a bit drowsy during the day? Or an occasional bout of insomnia? If your sleep problems are few and far between, probably not a major worry. But if your sleep disruptions are frequent, getting worse, or more noticeable to those around you, your problem might be sleep apnea. And that can be a big deal.

Sleep apnea occurs in three forms:

• Obstructive sleep apnea

This is the most common form of sleep apnea. It can be the result of the muscles in the back of the throat relaxing during sleep to obstruct the airway. Obstruction can also be caused by a physical condition such as a deviated septum, excess throat tissue or enlarged tonsils.  Loud snoring often results as the sleeper struggles to inhale through the obstructed passageway.

• Central sleep apnea

Central sleep apnea is caused by the brain failing to transmit the proper signals to breathe during sleep. The sleeper either stops breathing, or takes such shallow breaths that he or she can’t get enough air into the lungs.

• Complex sleep apnea

This condition is a mix of both obstructive and central sleep apnea.

Any of these forms of sleep apnea will cause a miserable night’s sleep. Sufferers actually stop breathing for a brief time. To start breathing properly again, our bodies move from the deep sleep we need to restore our physical and mental health to shallow sleep or even momentary wakefulness. And these disruptive episodes can happen dozens of times an hour, all night long. You might think you have gotten a full night’s sleep, while in reality you are suffering from sleep deprivation.

When you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, the immediate consequences are easy to see and hear. Loud snoring, choking, constant drowsiness—you (and your loved ones) suffer from these symptoms night and day. But the hidden consequences of this disorder are even more dangerous. Sleep apnea has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, and strokes. It can cause memory problems, depression, and mood changes. Loss of focus and slow reflexes can lead to accidents. Complications from general anesthetics and medications can also become a serious risk.

Snoring is not the only symptom of sleep apnea. If you notice that you often wake up with a sore throat, a dry mouth, or a headache, have difficulty going to sleep at night or staying awake during the day, can’t concentrate,  or constantly feel irritable—you should consider the possibility that you suffer from sleep apnea. Talk to Dr. Jason P. Tosto at our Hellertown, PA office. We can recommend options that will have you once again sleeping soundly in your bed, waking up refreshed and healthy. And that is a big deal.

During the second week in April, we recognize and celebrate the expert care dental hygienists provide. Let’s take a moment this week to explore how the special skills of this valued member of your dental team in Hellertown, PA enrich your dental health.

Regular Cleanings

Dentists typically recommend routine dental examinations twice a year, and these visits will almost always include an in-office cleaning by your hygienist. Dental hygienists are highly trained healthcare professionals who are specialists in caring for your teeth and gums.

• Plaque and tartar need to be removed from tooth enamel to help prevent cavities and gum disease. While you can brush away plaque, it takes a dental professional to remove tartar, which is plaque which has mineralized over time. The hygienists who work with Dr. Jason P. Tosto might use a hand scaler, an ultrasonic scaler, or both tools to gently scrape sticky plaque and hardened tartar from your tooth enamel.
• Your cleaning will also include polishing, where surface stains on the enamel are removed using a gentle abrasive. This cleaning might be done with a special toothpaste applied with a small rotating cup or with an air polisher, which removes stains with a stream of fine abrasive powder, water, and pressurized air.
• An expert flossing will remove any remaining plaque from between the teeth.

Deep Cleaning

Hygienists help prevent gum disease. Plaque and tartar on tooth surfaces below the gum line increase your risk of gum disease. Irritated gum tissue gradually pulls away from the teeth, creating pockets of bacteria and causing inflammation and infection.

• Your hygienist will use a probe to gently measure the depth of the space between the teeth and gums. Deeper than normal spaces or bleeding could be a sign of gum disease.
• Tartar on the tooth surface below the gum line will be removed using a treatment called scaling, a non-surgical procedure where your hygienist uses hand scalers or ultrasonic tools to carefully scrape hardened plaque from the tooth.
• Root planing might be done to smooth the root surfaces so that gum tissue can attach snugly around the teeth again, protecting the roots from plaque buildup and bacteria.

Preventative and Cosmetic Care

Some hygienists work with dentists to help provide additional diagnostic, preventative, and cosmetic services:

• X-rays and digital imaging.
• Oral cancer screenings.
• Sealants, thin plastic coatings which protect the top surfaces of molars—the most likely places to develop cavities—from accumulating food particles and plaque.
• Fluoride treatment, if recommended, applied in varnish, foam, or gel form.
• Professional whitening treatments.

Education

Finally, your dental hygienist is an educator!

• When it comes to brushing, there are effective techniques and . . . not so effective techniques. Your hygienist can teach you the best way to clean away food particles and plaque and the best tools for the job.
• During a cleaning, your hygienist will point out any spots where plaque has built up. Discovering the spots where you tend to leave plaque behind allows you to do a better, more thorough cleaning job at home.
• Flossing can be difficult for some of us because we have braces, or because of the way our teeth are aligned, or because of dexterity issues. Your hygienist can show you the best way to floss, as well as recommend products such as specially designed flosses or water flossers which will make flossing easier and more effective.

The dental hygienists at Tosto Family Dentistry are skilled professionals who work to create cleaner, brighter, healthier smiles for their patients every day. This week, we appreciate them for helping us achieve the beautiful smiles we get to appreciate all year long!

Chewing gum can be a sticky problem. We’re not talking about etiquette, or nutrition, or how to get rid of the darned stuff when you don’t have a trash container handy. No, we’re talking about gum and its effects on dental health. So, let’s take a moment to chew over the benefits and drawbacks of chewing gum.

• First, the Good News about Gum

One of the important benefits of chewing gum is increased saliva production. This might not sound especially appealing, but here’s an important fact: saliva is one of oral health’s unsung heroes.

Saliva helps wash away food particles which feed the bacteria in plaque. It helps neutralize acids in the mouth which can damage tooth enamel. The minerals in saliva actually help rebuild weak spots in our enamel.

And, since sugar-free gum has revolutionized the gum-chewing world, we don’t bathe our teeth in sugar while we chew. This is a major advantage, and it’s why sugar-free gums are the only products which are ADA approved. A possible downside? Some people who chew certain sugar-free gums (especially people who chew a lot of them) can experience digestive problems.

• What about Dental Work?

Yes, gum can be tricky for dentures, crowns, braces, and other dental work, especially with very sticky and chewy products. There are gums out there that claim to be safe for dental work, but finding the right gum can involve some trial and error that you might prefer to avoid. This is a good subject to discuss with Dr. Jason P. Tosto.

If you have a temporary crown protecting a tooth until your permanent crown is ready, avoid gum entirely until your restoration is complete. The pulling effect of sticky, chewy gum can make your temporary crown even more temporary than you were expecting! After your crown’s finished, talk to your dentist about chewing gum again.

• “Chews” Wisely

Chewing means jaw movement and pressure. Hours of chewing means hours of jaw movement and pressure. If your jaws ache after a gum marathon, maybe it’s time to cut back! But, if your jaws ache whenever you chew, that’s a sign that a visit to our Hellertown, PA office is in order.

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a kind of hinge which allows your mouth to open and close and move from side to side—in other words, to talk, eat, drink, yawn, make faces—all those things we do all day long. Recurring jaw pain can be a sign of TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder.

Bruxism, or tooth grinding, is another reason to leave gum off your shopping list. When you grind your teeth, you’re putting stress on your teeth and jaws which can lead to cracked and chipped teeth, headaches, and tooth and jaw pain. If you’re working on getting your bruxism under control, you’ll want to avoid chewing gum and other habits which cause jaw clenching.

You and your dentist are the people who know your oral health best. If you suffer from dry mouth and think chewing gum might help with saliva flow, or if you’re worried about your dental work being damaged by gum, or if you have jaw pain when you chew, or if you have any concerns about your oral health, visit Tosto Family Dentistry for all the answers to your sticky questions.

Recently, multiple studies have concluded that people with sleep apnea, a disorder that causes snoring, fatigue, and dangerous gaps in breathing at night due to throat muscles collapsing, are five times more likely to develop cancer. In fact, one of the studies found that people with the most severe forms of sleep apnea had a 65 percent greater risk of developing cancer of any kind.

Researchers believe this could be due to the body lacking enough oxygen, a condition known as hypoxemia. When people are deprived of oxygen, their bodies react by producing more blood vessels, which can feed cancer cells, and as a result cause tumors to grow and spread.

Approximately 28 million North Americans suffer from sleep apnea, with many cases going undiagnosed. This is due to most cancer patients not mentioning any sleep problems they experience unless their physician asks them.

Patients at Tosto Family Dentistry who suffer from sleep apnea can be treated using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, which produces a stream of air to keep the upper airways open while you sleep. An oral appliance may be another option if CPAP therapy isn’t an option. If you have sleep apnea, Dr. Jason P. Tosto and our team will help you understand all of your treatment options, finding one that suits your needs.

If you think you may have sleep apnea, please give us a call at our Hellertown, PA office to schedule an appointment.