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235 N. San Mateo Drive, Suite 300 San Mateo, CA 94401-2672 Tel: (650) 342-4171
705 Purissima Half Moon Bay, CA 94019-1934 Tel: (650) 726-6321
March/April 2023
IS SLEEP APNEA KEEPING YOU UP AT NIGHT? How Your Orthodontist Can Help
We all know how important it is to eat a healthy diet and drink enough water daily, but many of us struggle with another essential life function. Our sleep plays a role in nearly every aspect of our lives. When we sleep well, we feel physically and mentally better, are more productive, and have improved focus and concentration. During the week of March 13, we recognize Sleep Awareness Week. This is a great time to take a deep dive into your sleep patterns to see if you’re doing everything you can to get a good night’s rest.
in your throat is blocked by the collapse of throat muscles or by enlarged structures, such as tonsils. This causes a cessation in your breathing as you sleep. Central sleep apnea is less common and starts in the brain. The brain fails to send signals to the airway muscles to facilitate breathing, causing oxygen levels to decrease and forcing the individual to wake up. This condition is more common in
those with heart conditions. The final and rarest type of sleep apnea is complex or mixed sleep apnea, a combination of the other two types. So if you think you have sleep apnea, what should you do? First, you should schedule appointments with your primary care physician and an orthodontist. As an orthodontist, I’m on the frontline helping to treat these conditions since I can manipulate the positioning of the jaw and teeth to make more room for the tongue or bring the jaw forward, allowing the airway to open. I then play an essential role in coordinating with your primary care doctor and sleep doctor to ensure we’re doing everything possible to help. Sometimes, using Invisalign does enough to redirect the growth of the jaw and free the patient from
I’m incredibly fortunate when it comes to my sleep. I’m usually a great sleeper, but every once in a while, I’ll wake up and struggle to fall back to sleep because I can’t quiet my mind. I’m sure many of you have experienced this. Too many thoughts cloud your mind, and it’s challenging to navigate through them so you can fall back asleep. If this happens to you, take a few deep breaths and try to clear your mind. Those thoughts can wait until the morning.
In addition to overthinking, various things can mess with our sleep patterns. Our diets play a huge role in how we sleep. Less nutritious foods that are high in sugar and low in fiber can make it difficult to sleep well. Acidic foods, alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods can also make it difficult to fall asleep or cause disruptions in our sleep. Even eating too late can have adverse effects on your sleep. There’s seemingly a never-ending list of things that can disrupt our sleep, from light exposure to too much screen time to low cortisol levels. The one thing that is guaranteed to disrupt your sleep if you have it is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is quite prevalent in our country, as 1 in 15 Americans is affected by it. There are a few warning signs you can watch out for if you think you or a loved one are struggling with sleep apnea. Snoring, excessive sluggishness throughout the day, morning headaches, gasping or choking during sleep, awakening with dry mouth, memory loss, and irritability are all frequent symptoms of someone who has sleep apnea.
sleep apnea. There are many treatment options available for those suffering from sleep apnea. We’ll find some way to help you sleep better, from using a CPAP machine to creating an oral appliance to recommending jaw surgery in conjunction with orthodontics. There are solutions available if you feel like you’re not sleeping well. If you suspect it’s sleep apnea, come see me for an appointment. If not, try to pinpoint what’s causing your issues and make a change. When you sleep better, you feel better in all aspects of life.
There are three different types of sleep apnea. The most commonly seen is obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when the air passage
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Sleep Apnea and Jaw Surgery
If you read our cover article, you just learned a lot about sleep apnea, how it affects your life, and how an orthodontist can help. There are many different solutions to help with obstructive sleep apnea, but the one that often sees the most success is corrective jaw surgery. Obstructive sleep apnea can occur when face and neck muscles fail to work with jaw bones to support the tongue and airway. Corrective jaw surgery can be used to reposition the jaw and tongue and remove excess tissue from the back of the throat. The goal of the surgery is to increase the size of the airway and to prevent the collapse of the jaw and tongue during sleep. One of the most common types of jaw surgery used for this situation is genioglossus advancement, which is used to reposition the tongue and prevent it from blocking the airway.
will make incisions around the jaws and in the gums before using special tools to make cuts in the bone. They’ll likely reposition the bones using
splints and stabilize them with small plates and screws before closing the gums with dissolvable stitches. Patients are often told to be on a liquid diet for weeks after the procedure to ensure that everything heals properly. There may be limits on physical activities as well. You may be sore initially, but after that wears off,
you shouldn’t feel any pain or be able to notice the plates or screws in your mouth.
While corrective jaw surgery can help with issues caused by obstructive sleep apnea, it’s best to take precautions to prevent sleep apnea from occurring in the first place. Exercising regularly and eating a healthy and balanced diet will help you stay in shape and keep extra weight off, which in turn, will help prevent sleep apnea from occurring in the first place.
Jaw surgeries that help patients with obstructive sleep apnea are often invasive and performed under general anesthesia. The surgeon
CROSSING THE FINISH LINE:
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I Had Braces as a Kid Why Do I Need Them Again?
Imagine that you go in for your regularly scheduled dental appointment, and your dentist recommends that you see an orthodontist because you may require braces. You already had
Another reason that one might need orthodontic treatment is that they failed to wear their retainer. When orthodontic treatment is finished, patients no longer have anything holding their smile in place, so their teeth need help to stay in their permanent spots. This is where the retainer comes in. Without the retainer, teeth are subject to shift in the subsequent years. If you need orthodontic treatment for the second or third time in your life, it’s not the end of the world. Orthodontic technology has advanced over the past few years, and Invisalign makes treatment easier than ever before. You often only need minor adjustments during additional orthodontic treatment, so you don’t need to worry about being in Invisalign or another orthodontic appliance for years. You may only need a couple of months. Invisalign will always be faster than braces if you’re looking for quicker treatment. Going through orthodontic treatment for a second time can be daunting, but it will ensure that your smile is as straight and healthy as possible.
braces as a kid. Do you really need them again? It’s a situation that affects many adults yearly, leaving them wondering what they did wrong to have to go through treatment again. There are many reasons why one may go through orthodontic treatment multiple times in their life. Sometimes, it has nothing to do with how you take care of your teeth or what you did after your first round of orthodontics. Your teeth may have shifted with time, making your bite incorrect, which can cause issues with chewing, speaking, and more. You might not have ever had your wisdom teeth removed, and they could begin to protrude. This can cause serious issues with your smile as teeth that are straight can quickly become crooked.
Start your March mornings off with a seasonal flair by making these traditional Irish pancakes! Thick yet crispy, these pancakes are a sweet way to fuel your day. IRISH PANCAKES
Ingredients • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 1/2 tsp baking soda • 1/2 tsp kosher salt • 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten • 1 cup buttermilk • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
Directions 1. In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Set aside. 2. In a skillet, brown 1 tbsp of butter.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the beaten egg, buttermilk, and browned butter. 4. In a constant stream, add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients while stirring. Do not over beat! 5. Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 tbsp of butter, stir until the skillet is coated, and then add a few large dollops of batter (about 3 inches wide) to the pan. Do not overcrowd. 6. Cook 4–5 minutes a side, until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with butter, jam, and syrup.
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It’s Sleep Awareness Month PAGE 1 Issue INSIDE THIS
Can Jaw Surgery Help Sleep Apnea?
Winning at Alborzi Orthodontics PAGE 2
Why Do I Need Braces Again?
Irish Pancakes PAGE 3
The Best St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations in America PAGE 4
Feeling the Luck of the Irish? CHECK OUT AMERICA’S BEST ST. PATRICK’S DAY CELEBRATIONS
As we inch closer to the beginning of spring, nature around us is coming back to life. Soon, the grass and trees will return to their typical green hue if they haven’t already. Luckily, you don’t need to wait until April to see an abundance of green again. On March 17, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and people across the country will dress in green to honor the occasion. Certain cities in the U.S. go big for St. Patrick’s Day. If you’ve never attended a St. Patrick’s Day parade or celebration, maybe this is the year. Here are three cities with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations worth checking out. CHICAGO, IL Nobody does St. Patrick’s Day quite like Chicago, Illinois. The entire city gets a makeover! This year, on March 11, Chicago will host its St. Patrick’s Day parade, which includes dyeing the Chicago River a beautiful shade of emerald green. They’ll start tinting the river around 9 a.m., and the color will fade within six hours, so make sure you get there early! Chicago’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is also one of the biggest in the country. You’ll see floats, Irish step dancers, and much more.
NEW ORLEANS, LA Once Mardi Gras concludes, all eyes are on St. Patrick’s Day in New Orleans, Louisiana. The city hosts a parade on March 11, and it’s always quite a spectacle. You’ll see the makings of Irish tradition everywhere, including cabbage, onions, and potatoes, so keep your
head on a swivel. You can also head to the Irish Channel neighborhood on March 11 to attend an all-day block party. Plenty of green beer will be available at this event, so come ready to celebrate! NEW LONDON, WI Let’s say you want to do something slightly toned down but still exciting for St. Patrick’s Day. Then, you’ll want to check out New London, Wisconsin, for one of the country’s most unique St. Paddy’s Day celebrations. Leprechauns will change the city signs from New London to New Dublin. The city also puts on an Irish funeral parody in its annual downtown parade.
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