/24-7PressRelease/ - GURNEE, IL, July 06, 2008 - Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a very dangerous and life threatening disorder that is often characterized by loud snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness. Patients with untreated sleep apnea have a 600% increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Sleep apnea is also implicated in a six fold increase in motor vehicle accidents as well as cognitive disorders such as short term memory loss, Altzheimer's and dementia. In Children sleep apnea causes changes in brain development and it is estimated that 80% of ADHD children have sleep apnea. A Mayo Clinic study showed that the spouses of snorers lose up to 15% of their sleep which can also have advers health consequences.
The good News is that CPAP, or Continuous Positive Air Pressure is extremely effective treatment and works almost 100% of the time.
The bad news is that compliance with CPAP is very poor and studies have shown that only 23-45% of patients actually use their CPAP machines on a regular basis. Advancements in CPAP technology such as BiPAP, Ramping, APAP, Humidifiers, quieter machines and a multitude of masks have done little to increase compliance of CPAP users. Most studies show that less than half of patients prescribed CPAP continue to use it regularly. Studies have also shown that patient who do use CPAP average only 4-5 hours a night not the recommended 71/2 to 8 hours a night.
Oral appliance therapy offered by Sleep Apnea Dentists is much better tolerated by patients and treatment compliance is estimated at 90-95%. While it is not always successful, particularly in the very obese patient it is well tolerated an is an extremely successful treatment. Snoring and mild apnea to moderate apnea are almost always successful treated with appliances. More information on oral appliances can be found at
http://www.ihatecpap.com
Dr Ginger Price, a Phoenix dentist who is best known for her exquisite dental reconstructions and mastery of esthetic dentistry is taking the lead in bringing comfortable cpap alternatives to Phoenix. She has studied Dental Sleep Medicine with Dr Ira L Shapira a pioneer of the field. Dr Shapira has been treating sleep apnea with oral appliances for over 25 years and is the founder of I HATE CPAP LLC that is dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of sleep apnea and his website
http://www.ihatecpap.com is considered to be the premiere site for information about Dental Sleep Medicine treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and snoring. Dr Ginger Price can be contacted by going to the Find a Dentist section of the I HATE CPAP! site.
Dr Shapira does not hate cpap and neither do the sleep apnea dentists around the country who offer comfortable oral appliance therapy to their patients. The name of the company evolved because that was the number one comment patients made when they were seeking alternatives to CPAP. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine now recognizes oral appliance therapy as a first line treatment choice for mild to moderate sleep apnea and as an alternative to CPAP for severe apnea when patients do not tolerate CPAP. The American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine endorses the position of position of Academy of Sleep Medicine.
The National Sleep Foundation declared in SleepMatters its national Publication that "Oral Appliances are a therapy whose time has come". The American Sleep Apnea Association, the largest patient support group for patients with sleep apnea has also endorsed oral appliances as an alternative to CPAP. Also known as A.W.A.K.E. an acronym for Alert, Well, And Keeping Energetic published an article on the front page of their Fall, 2007 newsletter an article titled "Taking a Bite Out of OSA ; Oral appliances provide alternative therapy.
Patients with Sleep Apnea who are having problems or questions about their therapy will find the AWAKE group an excellent resource. Dave Hargett is the Chair of the Board of Directors and is a patient who originally formed the group. He has been happily using CPAP since his diagnosis but now recognizes the important part oral appliance therapy plays in overall treatment. The AWAKE group can be contacted at
http://www.sleepapnea.org.
Sleep and Health Journal is an excellent reference for more information about sleep or Sleep Apnea. It is the largest patient oriented journal covering sleep topics. There are articles about how sleep affects general health and a host of information available ony at this site. An article comparing cpap to oral appliances and an article comparing appliances to surgery can be found at:
http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=130&tid=22
http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=55&tid=22
http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=topics&tid=22 has other dental sleep medicine articles
http://www.sleepandhealth.com has information on all aspects of sleep and all back issues are available free on line
Contact Dr Price if you live in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area an want a more comfortable alternative to CPAP.
Ginger Price D.D.S.
4425 North 24th Street, #100
Phoenix, Arizona 85016
Dr Ira L Shapira is the founder of I HATE CPAP LLC. He is a Diplomate of The American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. He was a founder and credentialed member of the Sleep Disorder Dental Society which formed with 20 members 17 years ago. It has become the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine which just held its 17th annual meeting in Baltimore in June in conjunction with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Dr Shapira is a former assistant professor at Rush Medical School in Chicago where he did research on the relation of Jaw position to sleep apnea. His research showed similarities to the jaw position found in TMJ Disorders and Sleep Apnea. He worked there with Dr Rosalind Cartwright who was one of the founders of both sleep medicine and Dental Sleep Medicine. He is currently the Dental Section Editor of Sleep and Health Journal and the president of Delany Dental Care in Gurnee and is well known for his treatment of TMJ disorders and Sleep apnea as well as elegant cosmetic dental reconstruction. He holds several patents on the collection of stem cells utilizing minimally invasive techniques and is currently building Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates into a practice covering the Chicago Metropolitan area.
About Sleep and Health Journal
Dr Ira L Shapira is an author and section editor fo Sleep and Health, President of I HATE CPAP LLC, President Dato-TECH, and has a Dental Practice with his partner Dr Mark Amidei
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Press Release Keywords:- academy, alternative, apnea, cardiac, cosmetic, cpap, dental, dentist, dentistry, ental, ginger, hate, health, medicine, obstructive, phoenix, price, scottsdale, sleep, snoring, test
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