Sleep Apnea:Dental Checkups

"What role does your dentist play in diagnosing and treating sleep apnea disorder? Believe it or not, quite a few signs of OSA are evident in the mouth.

For example, OSA patients are six times more likely to grind or clench than a normal group. Patients who have acid reflux will exhibit erosion of the tooth enamel. Of the number of people who suffer from temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), 70 percent will screen positive for OSA. And if you stick out your tongue and see scalloping, or indentations of the teeth, on the edges of the tongue, that is 70 percent predictive of OSA."
From: http://sleepapneadisorder.info/?p=544

I've had all those indicators plus a class 2 overbite & tori for years. None of my dentists have linked it to OSA & I go every 6mos. My current dentist is young and very knowledgeable, he's discussed my clenching and grinding problem & stress cracks but not a peep on SDB. Kinda surprised that my pulm. doc didn't bring it up or look at anything other than airway size, the wear on my teeth is obvious.

This is slightly OT, but I like the story. My dentist never mentioned OSA even though my physical make-up is ripe for it. When I was diagnosed with mild secondary pulmonary hypertension, the cardiologist never mentioned it. It was my PODIATRIST who sent me packing to a sleep doc. When I went back to see him a month after he prescribed something for nerve pain, he said that I must have OSA. The reason was that I told him that I was always sleepy and that the Lyrica made it all so much worse, to the point that I fell asleep at the wheel. He said that the symptoms were coming together to indicate OSA, and he's found it in several of his patients. He's been my hero ever since. He's the most sought out podiatrist in our city because he stays on top of his game.

A podiatrist???

He's starting at the "wrong end of the horse", so to speak...

Interesting. I have none of those symptoms. Although I do have GERD, it has been treated for years so I guess it never caused any mouth problems.

LinkC wrote:A podiatrist???

He's starting at the "wrong end of the horse", so to speak...

Yeah, yeah--he studies all the time and said that untreatable nerve pain can sometimes be caused, at least in part, to lack of sleep.

Why in the world would a cardiologist suggest sleep apnea as the cause of secondary pulmonary hypertension when the podiatrist can simply look at the feet and make a diagnosis? Crazy, I know,but this saved my life.

I have all those things in my mouth too and no dentist has ever mentioned it.

We've heard more than once that there are doctors who believe that OSA is under diagnosed. Maybe there are some specialists who are more informed about this subject and therefore are more apt to diagnose it when they see the symptoms that they've studied. No one ever mentioned it to me even though I told at least 2 docs that I was sleepy all the time.

Holy caw. I've been treated for TMJ by different dentists since I was 16 years old. I'm now 41 and estimate I have had progressively-worsening OSA for the last DECADE.

I'm taking my older child (she is 7) to the orthodontist tomorrow for an intial appointment. I already know she has a very narrow palate and will need work to make space for her teeth, just like I did as a child.

It boggles the mind to think that there is such predictive capacity from these simple things and yet I suffered for SO LONG (and so MUCH) without one of these dentists saying hey, how are you sleeping? How's your level of fatigue? Do you snore, by any chance?