Park Avenue Dental Professionals Are Now Offering Sleep Apnea Treatments For Libertyville Patients

    LIBERTYVILLE, IL, May 23, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition that causes a person to experience interruptions in sleeping due to the airway becoming blocked. While the causes of OSA are many, one contributing factor is the positioning of the jaw and/or tongue when sleeping. That's where Dr. Kathleen Christie-Jaroch and Dr. Meagan Heilman can come in - both dentists can create custom sleep apnea treatment appliances at their Libertyville, Illinois, dental practice, Park Avenue Dental Professionals.

"A custom dental appliance can help patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea symptoms," says Dr. Kathleen Christie-Jaroch, a Libertyville sleep medicine dentist. "While not all sleep apnea symptoms can be relieved with dental appliances, they are often a good option for patients who have difficulty wearing a CPAP mask."

A variety of dental devices used to treat sleep apnea exist. These include devices to help the tongue stay forward while a person sleeps to keep the airway open. This device type is known as a tongue-retaining appliance.

Another option re-positions the jaw, pulling the lower jaw forward to keep air flowing as well. This is known as mandibular repositioning appliances. These devices closely resemble a retainer and are custom-fit to be worn comfortably while you sleep. With constant wear over time, the muscle tone of the tongue can improve, helping to reduce sleep apnea symptoms.

Being a sleep dentist is about more than creating a well-fitting dental appliance. Dr. Kathleen Christie-Jaroch and Dr. Meagan Heilman work to determine if a patient can truly benefit from an oral appliance. This includes carefully evaluating each patient to determine if a sleep apnea device could work, coordinating with sleep medicine physicians and using a follow-up sleep study while wearing a sleep apnea device to determine if the appliance will be effective.

Some patients can combine the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device with an oral appliance. A CPAP device is one that helps to maintain airway pressure while a sleep apnea patient is resting to keep the airway from collapsing. Because CPAP devices can be difficult to take while traveling, a dental appliance that is portable can be easier to utilize.

Treating sleep apnea is vital to protecting your health and helping you get a good night's rest. If left untreated, sleep apnea leads to excessive daytime sleepiness, which affects your performance at work and/or school. Also, sleep apnea can weaken the heart over time because it must pump harder to keep the blood oxygenated.

"If patients experience snoring or wake up after a night's rest and feels unrested, it's important they seek evaluation for sleep apnea treatments," says Dr. Heilman, a Libertyville, IL, sleep medicine physician. "The sooner I can begin treatment, the sooner a patient can begin getting a full night's rest again."

For more information on Park Avenue Dental Professionals and how Dr. Kathleen Christie-Jaroch and Dr. Meagan Heilman can help relieve your sleep apnea concerns, please call (847) 918-1255. To learn more about additional services the dentists offer, please visit their practice website at www.ParkAveDentalPro.com.

About Park Avenue Dental Professionals: Park Avenue Dental Professionals is the Libertyville, IL dentist practice of Dr. Kathleen Christie-Jaroch and Dr. Meagan R. Heilman. The practice provides comprehensive dentistry treatments in the fields of family, emergency, cosmetic, restorative and sleep medicine treatments. The practice is now accepting new patients.

Media Contact:
Dr. Kathleen Christie-Jaroch
Dr. Meagan Heilman
[email protected]
1001 W. Park Avenue
Libertyville, IL 60048
(847) 918-1255
www.ParkAveDentalPro.com

As seen on: http://www.epressdistribution.com/news.asp?id=3777

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