“Sleep, when the body and mind are at rest, is a time to rejuvenate the body and organize the mind.”
The Dental Sleep Center at Keller Dentistry primarily focuses on sleep medicine. This discipline treats patients that have been diagnosed with sleep apnea. It also helps patients to reduce or eliminate snoring. Many patients that cannot tolerate CPAP treatment have found dental solutions quite effective and user friendly.
As part of the team that treats sleep disorders, dental sleep medicine requires extensive rigorous training. A Dentist is conferred the designation of “Qualified Dentist” upon completion of the training and can attain a board-certified diplomate status upon successfully completing an additional examination process.
Dental Sleep Medicine is a major component in the treatment of sleep related breathing disorders (SRBD). As will be described below, it is one of three treatment options to managing sleep apnea and has extensive scientific research to support its effectiveness and successful management of sleep apnea.
Based on current research publications, the number of people in the US suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)is close to 20 million.
Sleep apnea is defined as a cessation of breathing during sleep for 10 seconds or more, multiple times an hour throughout the night.
There are multiple factors that contribute to the occurrence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). When sleeping, the tongue and throat muscles tend to relax and block/close the airway.
Airway blockage leads to brief awakenings/interruptions of the sleep as we gasp for air.
If left untreated, sleep apnea can cause multiple health complications: high blood pressure, heart attack, and diabetes to name a few. Additionally, lack of restful sleep during the night can affect your work productivity, lead to increased chances of car accidents due to fatigue, as well as irritability and memory loss.
Most insurances will cover a sleep test to evaluate if the problem exists for you and at what level.
Three treatment modalities are available.
- Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This entails wearing a mask over the face with tubes connected to an oxygen machine throughout the night, every night.
- Oral appliance therapy (OAT) is a dental appliance that is similar to wearing retainers by advancing your jaw enough to prevent blockage of the airway while you sleep.
- Surgery is recommended for extreme cases where other treatments failed and clear anatomical obstruction is implicated.
Dr. Keller will collaborate with the sleep physician and review the results and treatment option with you. Dr. Keller has received special training in dental sleep medicine. He was awarded a Master of Science degree from USC which includes special training in sleep medicine. He has undergone intensive training at the Sleep Center at Keck School of Medicine. Dr. Keller is a graduate of the mastery track of the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) which is an intensive training program in the field of dental sleep medicine. He has been designated as a qualified dentist in sleep medicine by the AADSM and has achieved Diplomate status from the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr. Keller is involved in dental sleep education and is an Assistant Professor at the Orofacial Pain Clinic at the USC School of Dentistry. He serves on the Scientific Committee of the AADSM as well as the Academic Board of Higher Education.
