Are your teeth giving you a headache?

Do you suffer from headaches? Have you been diagnosed with migraines? Many people live their daily lives with severe headaches or facial pain without any relief. Other symptoms common to headache sufferers are ear pain and congestion, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), dizziness, and even neck tension or pain. Unfortunately, many people have been treated by numerous physicians throughout their lives without any improvement in their symptoms. The last person most people would turn to for a cure would be their dentist; however your bite could be the cause of your chronic headaches!

Many headaches can be part of undiagnosed Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder or an abnormal bite. 90% of all headaches are considered “muscle tension headaches,” and can be directly related to a person’s unbalanced bite. Many people diagnosed with migraines can actually be suffering from these muscle tension headaches.

This syndrome is the source of chronic pain for many, and can result in severe wear, or fracturing, of your teeth and restorations, leading to tooth loss. This viscous cycle results in an even more unbalanced bite causing a person’s headaches and pain to worsen over time. Most people would never think that their dentist could help with headaches, but we are improving the lives of our patients every day.

CLICK HERE to read the Oakland Press Article

Depending on a dentist’s training and experience in this area, they should be able to determine if a patient has a poor bite through a thorough exam and precise measurements. People are often frustrated because previous forms of treatment have been unsuccessful. Fortunately, we are able to tell if a person is a candidate for this type of therapy before any action begins. This makes people very comfortable with pursuing this treatment when they are confident they will benefit from it.

Dental Tip of the Month
Are you experiencing any of these symptoms on a regular basis? Looking for answers?
Dr. Doolin and Dr. Haddad will be giving a presentation that includes discussing the latest techniques in headache and TMJ treatment at the Women’s Lifestyle’s Extravaganza October 22nd and 23rd at 1:00pm at Macomb CC Sports and Expo Center.
Their presentation:
“”Exploring the Hottest Topics in Dentistry: Cosmetics, TMJ/Headache treatment, and Sleep Apnea,” will be given both days of the event. The doctors will be available throughout the day answering questions and providing additional information for attendees.

The Truth about Snoring

Most of us have had some experience with snoring, either personally or with stories told by others. In addition to being a nuisance snoring can be a sign of a bigger problem; sleep apnea.

Often people who snore experience "apnea" episode where they completely stop breathing.

When you stop breathing your oxygen levels go down making your heart work harder. These episodes put a person at a higher risk for heart attack, stoke and many other life threatening conditions.

If you or someone you know snore they should be tested for sleep apnea.

In years past testing for this condition required spending the night in a sleep clinic. Today monitoring can be done in the comfort of your own home.

A small sleep monitor is worn over night and records your sleeping pattern.

Information obtained such as blood oxygen level, breathing, and apneatic episodes are evaluated to determine if you are at risk for sleep apnea.

If you are at risk for sleep apnea there are many options available to treat this condition.

To schedule your sleep apnea monitoring contact Rochester Advanced Dentistry 248.656.2020

Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

Sleep apnea has become a very common diagnosis for many Americans. In years past snoring was merely something people were embarrassed of or annoyed by depending on if you were the snorer or the person trying to sleep next to the person struggling to breath.

It is now known that snoring is more than a nuisance and can actually be shortening a persons life span. Often times people who snore also experience apnea episodes in which they completely stop breathing. These episodes can occur 5 - 50 times an hour.

When you stop breathing, the oxygen levels in your blood go down and carbon dioxide levels go up. This makes your heart and blood vessels work harder increasing your risk for heart attacks, high blood pressure and death.

Numerous treatment options are available depending on the severity of your sleep apnea;

Option 1: Surgery

Tissue if removed from the back of the throat to open the airway.

Option 2: C-PAP (continuous positive airway pressure )

Air forces the airway to remain open via a hose to a nasal pillow, nose mask, full-face mask, or a combination.



Option 3: A dental appliance


Opens the airway by minimally advancing the lower jaw while sleeping

For more information on sleep apnea screening and treatment options contact

Rochester Advanced Dentistry 248.656.2020

Open Up and Say Ahhh

Tonsillectomies, once a rite of passage for children, may be making a comeback.

Most remember the sore throat and never-ending supply of ice cream, though today this surgery is a rarity. Rochester dentists Kurt Doolin, and Jeff Haddad say the benefits of tonsillectomys should be re-examined

Haddad says, "It may be worth having your children's tonsils checked if they have poor sleeping habits including sleeping in odd positions, earaches, sore throats, visits to the hospital to have tubes installed in their ears, and subsequent visits when those fall out."

The doctors say common treatments, such as tubes in the ears, focus on the symptoms only, not the cause."Tubes are like putting a Band-Aid on a wound," Doolin says. They just relieve pressure and drainage, and don't address the underlying cause.

Complications from enlarged tonsils or adenoids can be developmentally devastating to dental health, choking off a child's - even an adult's - airway."The tongue shoots up to the roof of the mouth, causing the teeth to collapse inward in the lower jaw and the palette to push upwards from the force of the tongue."

Catching the problem early enough, before the mouth becomes too distorted, could prevent future orthodontic treatment, or at least lessen a child's time in braces, the dentists say.

"Children and adults can have problems with obstructive sleep apnea," "Sometimes it can lead to behavioral problems. With children it can affect their ...

The entire "Open Up and Say Ahhh" Oakland Press article

Is sleeping, killing you?

It is well known that sleep is one of the basic human needs. Not getting adequate sleep can negatively effect every aspect of your life. But you may not know that if you are suffering from snoring or sleep apnea you are likely causing harm to your body and shortening your life span while sleeping.


What is sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person's breathing is interrupted during sleep. People with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times.

When you miss a breath or take an abnormal breath, the amount of oxygen in your blood drops to an abnormal level. The reduced oxygen levels can lead to a variety of medical problems including high blood pressure.

There are two types of sleep apnea:
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): The more common of the two forms of apnea, it is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses during sleep.

Central sleep apnea: Unlike OSA, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe due to instability in the respiratory control center.

Am I at Risk for Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age, even children. However, risk factors for sleep apnea include:
Having a large neck size (17 inches or greater in men and 16 inches or greater in women)
Certain shapes of the palate and jaw
Having larger tonsils
Having a large tongue
Narrow airway
Nasal obstruction
Having a family history of sleep apnea
Male gender
Being overweight
Over the age of forty


What are the symptoms of Sleep Apnea?
Excessive daytime sleepiness, including falling asleep at inappropriate times
Awakening unrefreshed in the morning
Depression (possibly)
Poor concentration
Loud snoring
Observed episodes of breathing cessation
Awakening with a dry mouth or sore throat
Morning headaches
Difficulty staying asleep
What are the Effects of Sleep Apnea?
If left untreated, sleep apnea can result in a growing number of health problems including:
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Stroke
Heart failure, irregular heart beats, and heart attacks
Impotence


In addition, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for poor performance in everyday activities, such as at work and school, motor vehicle crashes, as well as academic underachievement in children and adolescents



There are many treatment options available for sleep apnea.

To learn more about sleep apnea, set up appointment to be monitored for sleep apnea or to discuss treatment options please contact Rochester Advanced Dentistry at 248.656.2020