The short answer – yes. Most people don’t ever think about their breathing. It is an intrinsic, biologic process that just happens for most of us. If you’re one of the unlucky few who has had to struggle with breathing issues due to sinus conditions, asthma, airway obstruction, or other concerns, you know that a deep breath is nothing to take for granted. As you’ve been reading this introductory paragraph, have you noticed your breathing? Are you taking in and expelling air through the nose, the mouth, or a combination of both? The majority of people breathe in and out through the nose, but there are some people whose bodies have compensated for airway issues through mouth breathing. While this may seem harmless, mouth breathing can be a warning sign of underlying concerns, and research indicates it may even put you at great risk for poor oral health. Keep reading to learn more about the potential risks of mouth breathing and the importance of preventive dentistry to counteract the adverse oral health consequences experienced by some mouth breathers.
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Can Mouth Breathing Impact Your Oral Health?
How Obstructive Sleep Apnea Impacts Overall Health
When you think about sleep apnea, you probably don’t immediately think about visiting the dentist, but for many patients, a dentist is the first person to notice concerns that indicate a need for sleep apnea testing. There are numerous ways that our bodies work to accommodate a restricted airway, which is the most common cause of sleep apnea. In this post, we’re going to review what we as dentists are seeing that lets us know you may need to consider moving forward with diagnosis and treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.
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The Importance of a Proper Airway
Food – you can live without it up to 40 days.
Water – you can live without it just a few days.
Air – you can only live without it a few minutes.
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Dr Dave McCarl now Certified to Treat Sleep Apnea
Dr. David McCarl has received certification in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). An estimated 18 million people in America suffer from obstructive sleep apnea – a serious condition characterized by pauses of breath and/or low breathing during sleep.
Sleep apnea is an extraordinarily serious condition which can ultimately contribute to stroke, heart attack, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, fatigue, and impotence. Snoring is a common side effect, and many people with sleep apnea are often not even aware that they have difficulty breathing.
McCarl Dental Group is now offering the removable Daytime-Nighttime Appliance, or DNA Appliance, a comfortable and discrete treatment that can permanently correct causes of sleep apnea by moving structures of the jaw into a more natural position.
The DNA appliance is new way to permanently correct sleep apnea and reduce snoring, straighten your teeth, and alleviate symptoms of TMJ disorder. The DNA Appliance works by widening the upper arch and the nasal passages, allowing more airflow to pass through. The lower arch can then move into an improved position. This sleep apnea treatment is now available with Dr. Dave McCarl at McCarl Dental Group in Millersville Maryland and Greenbelt Maryland.
Contact Dr. McCarl today at our Millersville Maryland dental office 410-987-8800 or our Greenbelt Maryland dental office 301-474-4144 to find out more about the DNA Appliance and how it can help you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgoj2R34x5k
The DNA Appliance can help with sleep apnea without the need for drugs, surgery, or CPAP (a cumbersome facial gear to be worn at night to help patients control symptoms by keeping the airway open).
The difference between the DNA Appliance and CPAP, is that while those treatments may help control symptoms, they typically only work while the device is being worn. The DNA Appliance works to permanently fix the causes of sleep apnea so that you won’t have to continuously wear uncomfortable gear while you sleep.
Benefits of DNA Appliance
The DNA Appliance can help correct a number of orthodontic issues, in addition to treating symptoms of TMJ and sleep apnea. Benefits of obstructive sleep apnea treatment include:
- Improvement in sleep apnea and snoring
- Improvement in TMJ symptoms
- Improvement in teeth alignment
- Discrete
- No uncomfortable headgear or braces
- Designed for both adults and children
DNA Appliance for Teeth Alignment
The DNA Appliance also serves as an orthodontic appliance. It is designed to be worn at night during sleep. The DNA appliance works to help guide the growth of the jaw into a more desirable position, which can ultimately help improve teeth alignment.
The DNA Appliance is very similar to a removable orthodontic retainer, and is usually effective in about half the time it takes for braces to work. It can also be very effective in children who need upper arch expansion.
Question: The appliance is called DNA or Daytime-Nighttime Appliance. Are genes involved in the treatments?
Answer: Yes, in the sense that the DNA appliance can upregulate or modulate gene expression during orthodontic, orthopedic and/or pneumopedic (non-surgical airway remodeling) airway treatments. However, no gene-transfer or artificial genes are used at all. Only the patient’s naturally-occurring genes are involved in this orthodontic treatment.
The DNA appliances are involved in a system that has been specially-designed by Dr Singh to bioengineer craniofacial, dental, and airway structures so that natural developmental processes are evoked to enhance the teeth, jaws, TMJ, face and airway into more optimal relations for functions, such as sleep and breathing.
The Daytime-Nighttime Appliance, or DNA treatment, is part of a specialty field of orthodontics called Epigenetic Orthodontics. This technique is designed to enhance the development and function of underlying jaw and nasal structures without using braces or facial “gear.” It can take much less time than other procedures, and has been proven to be very effective at treating sleep apnea, snoring and even TMJ disorder.