Dentist's Perspective of Sleep Apnoea

Here's some information shared by a lovely US Dentist friend, Dr. Xerxez Calilung, who has sleep apnoea himself and so does his mother.  He quotes:-

"Dentists are often the best people to notice the signs of sleep apnoea). Scalloped tongue is a 75% indicator of possible OSA issues. Occlusal teeth grinding/enamel loss and abfraction lesions along the gumline of teeth are all dental indicators of OSA problems. This is what I see on a daily basis in the office.I ask my patients about generalized muscle stiffness and most will say that they have the following:

• TMJ issues
• Sore neck and stiff shoulder muscles
• Lower back pain and cramping of the calf and foot
• Hot or cold sweats during sleep
• GERD
• Mild to moderate memory loss
• Mood swings

These are the most common complaints that I hear from them and I send them to the sleep doctors for OSA testing.

Hope the dental perspective is helpful. The medical doctor is the only one to diagnose for OSA. Dentists are there to aid the medical doctors in cases of mild to moderate OSA. Dual therapy: CPAP/Mouth Guard are used to lower air pressures when high air pressures are not tolerated."

Scalloped Tongue

He also told me he does make mandibular devices, but only for mild cases of sleep apnoea or for people to use along with their CPAP therapy.

You can find Dr. Calilung on his Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dental-Arts-of-Irvine/138692856317070