Dallas/Fort Worth: Sleep Apnea Information and the Availability of Treatment Choices for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Including CPAP, Surgery and Oral Appliances is Available at www.IHATECPAP.COM

    DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TX, November 14, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- There are major problems for many patients diagnosed with sleep apnea. Most patients are immediately prescribed CPAP, or continuous positive air pressure consisting of a mask, hose, compressor and possibly a humidifier and sent home with their new devices. There are many great success stories with CPAP use and patients who do not tolerate the treatment often feel like failures.

Nothing could be further from the truth, in fact, according to numerous medical studies in the most prestigious journals only 23-45% of patients tolerate CPAP. These studies also show that even among patients who use CPAP most only wear it for 4-5 hours a night not the recommended 7 1/2-8 hours nightly.

Patients who cannot tolerate CPAP or who wear it but feel no better or worse are usually not informed of alternative treatments. Many who are told about alternative treatments often are referred directly to a surgeon because sleep physicians are more comfortable with physician referrals than they are in referring to a dental practitioner. The problem is that upper airway surgery has not been very effective in treating obstructive sleep apnea.

Dr Kent Smith an Irving dentist who treats sleep apnea and snoring for Dallas patients who do not tolerateCPAP cites a study from the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine showed that people with even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease because of impaired endothelial function and increased arterial stiffness. He is concerned for the health and wellness of fellow Texans, their families as well as the safety of our highways. Patients with mild sleep apnea have a 600% increase in motor vehicle accidents and a 300% increase in MVA with serious bodily injury. This is true even when there are no signs of daytime sleepiness. He has joined www.ihatecpap.com to promote diagnosis and treatment snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Numerous studies have shown the negative effects of snoring and sleep apnea on marital contentment.

According to Dr Kent Smith obstructive sleep apnea is known to cause 6-7 fold increases in heart attacks and strokes. This new study showed that patients who exhibit even minimally symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) might be at increased risk for cardiovascular disease because of impaired endothelial function and increased arterial stiffness. Snoring is the number one symptom identifying sleep apnea. Find Dr Smith @ http://www.Dallas.IHateCPAP.com/ .

"It was previously known that people with OSA severe enough to affect their daytime alertness and manifest in other ways are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but this finding suggests that many more people - some of whom may be completely unaware that they even have OSA - are at risk than previously thought," said lead author of the study, Malcolm Kohler, M.D.

The study will be published in the first issue for November of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. At the American Thoracic Society meeting last year data was presented showed a 300% increase in motor vehicle accidents with severe injuries to one ore more people in mild apnea with no symptoms of daytime sleepiness. Mild Apnea is also known to cause permanent brain damage in adults and developing children.

"Only one out of approximately five subjects with [clinically defined OSA] complains of excessive daytime sleepiness in population studies," according to Geraldo Lorenzi-Filho, M.D., Ph.D. in his editorial in the same issue of the Journal. "It is now recognized that OSA triggers a cascade of biological reactions, including increased sympathetic activity, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and metabolic alterations that are potentially harmful to the cardiovascular system."

Dr. Kohler and colleagues performed a controlled, cross-sectional study to assess differences in endothelial function. The study compared 64 patients who had proven OSA to matched control subjects without OSA. These findings prove that minimally symptomatic OSA is a severe cardiovascular risk factor that was previously underestimated.

"In our study, the augmentation index, a measure of central arterial stiffness that independently predicts cardiovascular events in high-risk populations, was significantly higher in patients with minimally symptomatic OSA compared to matched controls," said Dr. Kohler. "We also found impaired endothelial function as indicated by decreased vascular reactivity of their arteries compared to control subjects without OSA."

The difference in arterial stiffness between OSA patients and control subjects, Dr. Kohler said was "comparable in size to the effect seen after four weeks' continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy in patients with moderate to severe symptomatic OSA." This means that even patients with mild apnea will benefit from CPAP therapy. The problem with CPAP is that most patients do not continue to use it on a regular basis. Studies have shown that only 23-45 % of patients actually use CPAP and even users average only 4-5 hours a day. It is recommended that CPAP be worn 7 1/2-8 hours nightly.

Dr.Kohler and colleagues from the Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine are currently investigating the effects of 6 month CPAP therapy on arterial stiffness and endothelial function as part of an international randomized controlled trial (Multicentre Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Interventional Cardiovascular Trial; MOSAIC) which will show the impact of CPAP therapy on cardiovascular risk in patients with minimally symptomatic OSA. The problem with compliance with is still a problem but it has been shown that oral appliances are as effective as CPAP for mild to moderate sleep apnea ant that oral appliances have much higher compliance. Information on oral appliance therapy can be found at www.ihatecpap.com

Due to the fact that permanent damage to the brain and cardiovascular system results from untreated apnea this lack of treatment compliance has led an intense effort to improve compliance by improving the design of the machines and the masks. This effort has been only minimally effective. The field of Dental Sleep Medicine has emerged as the best hope for patients who do not tolerate CPAP treatment. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has endorsed oral appliances as a first line treatment along with CPAP for mild to moderate sleep apnea and as an alternative treatment for severe sleep apnea. This position is also endorsed by the National Sleep Foundation, The American Sleep Apnea Association (AWAKE) and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr Kent Smith says that an excellent site for information on Dental Sleep Medicine http://www.ihatecpap.com was developed by Dr Ira L Shapira a Chicago dentist who is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and a pioneer in the field of dental sleep medicine. Dr Shapira was a charter member of the Sleep Disorder Dental Society, which evolved into the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and is a founding member of DOSA,The Dental Organization for Sleep Apnea. Dr Kent Smith was instrumental in the creation of DOSA. The website, www.ihatecpap.com has a find a dentist area to help patients connect with Sleep Apnea Dentists.

DR SHAPIRA and DR SMITH EMPHASIZE THAT THEY DO NOT HATE CPAP AND THAT IT IS AN EXCELLENT TREATMENT FOR PATIENTS WHO TOLERATE IT AND USE IT THE RECOMMENDED 7-8 HOURS NIGHTLY. THEY BELIEVE THAT DENTAL SLEEP MEDICINE PROVIDES COMFORTABLE CPAP ALTERNATIVES FOR PATIENTS WHO DO NOT TOLERATE CPAP. MOST PATIENTS PREFER ORAL APPLIANCES TO CPAP WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN A CHOICE.

Dr. Kent Smith is the co-founder of and the co-director for the Dental Organization for Sleep Apnea and is on the advisory Board for Sleep Healers, a medical group operating sleep centers and conducting workshops on sleep disorders. In 2006, he was asked to create a Sleep Disorder course at LVI Global, and is the lead instructor of their three-day program. He regularly lectures on sleep breathing disorders both nationally and internationally for study groups, dental laboratories, major meetings and A.W.A.K.E. groups. His audiences are usually dentists, but also include both physicians and patients.
Dr. Smith is the managing partner of 21st Century Dental, which utilizes more than 20 well-trained team members. His special emphasis is on opening the patient's airway through orthodontics or removable orthotics during the day, while using mandibular advancement splinting during their sleep. His efforts have led to profiles in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Early Show with Bryant Gumbel, local television and many dental and non-dental publications. He is also the creator of FindCE.com and Find-Speaker.com, and has been named a Top 10 VIP by the Speaking Consulting Network for 2009.

Dr. Smith is an active member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the International Association for Comprehensive Aesthetics, the American Academy of Craniofacial Pain and the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration.

Dr Shapira founded I HATE CPAP! LLC to help patients challenged by CPAP and his website www.ihatecpap.com is designed to help patients find their way thru the confusing maze of medical jargon and referrals. He emphasizes that he does not "HATE CPAP". He initially was met by resistance by a few members of the medical community because of the name of his website but enlightened physicians now recognize that Dr Shapira's website www.ihatecpap.com is not in competition with the sleep community but is actually promoting sleep medicine in a very positive way. Many patients who had quit their treatment with CPAP at great personal health risk have returned for sleep apnea treatment as a direct result of this website, This is also making the roads and highways in Chicago safer because patients with untreated sleep apnea have a 600% increase in motor vehicle accidents.

An article in Sleep and Health Journal discussed the advantages of oral appliances from a sleep apnea dentist over surgery. The article SLEEP APNEA TREATMENT: ARE DENTAL APPLIANCES MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN SURGERY? can be found at the following link.
http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=55&tid=22 another article in Sleep and Health Journal, Oral Appliances vs. CPAP, can be found at:
http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=130&tid=22

A recently published article showed minimal improvement with CPAP tolerance after surgery. The article "Impact of upper airway surgery on CPAP compliance in difficult-to-manage obstructive sleep apnea" was published in Arch Otolaryngology Head Neck Surg. 2008 Sep;134(9):926-30 by Chandrashekariah R, Shaman Z, Auckley D.
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University

Their conclusion was "CONCLUSION: Upper airway surgery in select patients with OSA may improve CPAP compliance and should be considered as a potential adjunctive therapeutic measure in poorly compliant patients with OSA." Reading the study actually showed that the patients who were CPAP non-compliant defined as using CPAP for less than 4 hours a night increased their CPAP use only minimally and still required CPAP use. "A mean increase of 48.6 minutes in CPAP compliance was noted after surgery (P = .03)" The increase of 46 minutes(mean) showed that not only did the patients still require use of CPAP but that they were still using CPAP far less than the recommended time even after surgery.

The CPAP pressure needed was reduced only slightly "mean CPAP pressure setting (11.8 cm H(2)O before surgery vs 10.4 cm H(2)O after surgery; P = .09)" The 11 patients in the study all still required CPAP.

The usage of oral appliances was not discussed in the article but previous studies have shown that oral appliances are more effective than surgery and have much greater compliance than CPAP. The majority of patients who given a choice between CPAP and oral appliances overwhelmingly prefer appliances. www.ihatecpap.com is an educational site devoted to informing patients and their loved ones about the dangers of sleep apnea and providing extensive information on CPAP alternatives. There is a find a dentist area on the site to help patients find a Sleep Apnea Dentist in their area.

Dr Ira L Shapira put this site together a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine who is a pioneer of this field.
He was involved in research in the 1980's as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Rush Medical School's Sleep disorder clinic working with Dr Rosalind Cartwright a psychologist who was involved in the creation of Sleep Medicine and is probably the single individual most responsible for Dental Sleep Medicine being accepted as a major component of sleep medicine. She published the first medical articles on oral appliances utilizing the Tongue Retaining Device invented by Dr Charles Samuelson a Psychiatrist. She has been a champion of Dental Sleep Medicine from its inception. The February 2006 issue of SLEEP published new parameters of care for oral appliances that recommend oral appliances as a first line of treatment equal to CPAP for mild to moderate apnea and as an alternative treatment for severe apnea when patients do not tolerate CPAP. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine endorse these findings. This is only possible due to enormous contribution of Rosalind Cartwright.

Dr Shapira returned to the Sleep Center at Rush in the 1990's and treated patients with oral appliances until 2001. He has continued his work in Dental Sleep medicine in the Chicago area. He teaches a course in Dental Sleep Medicine to dentists from around the United States at his Gurnee, Illinois practice. He has recently started a new practice Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates dedicated to bringing the finest in dental sleep medicine treatment to Chicago and Suburban patients. He currently has four Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine locations in the Chicago area. Gurnee, Skokie, Bannockburn and Schaumburg but is planning several additional offices across Chicago proper and in other suburbs.

Dr Shapira has excellent working relationships with several sleep centers besides Rush and has trained many sleep technicians in the art of appliance titration. He regularly works and trains technicians with Dr Alexander Golbin and The Sleep and Behavioral Medicine Centers in Skokie, Bannockburn and Vernon Hills and can see patients in the Bannockburn office. He has an office in American Sleep Center in Skokie and in Schaumburg in the office of Dr Alan Acierno a prominent dentist known for his compassionate manner and excellent prosthetic and cosmetic dentistry. He has trained technicians at Evanston and Glenbrook Hospital Sleep Centers, Lake Forest Hospital Sleep Center, Alexian Brothers Sleep Center, Central Dupage Hospital Sleep Center, Merit Sleep centers, Saint Francis Hospital and numerous other sleep labs in Illinois and Wisconsin. His titration protocols have been sent to sleep labs around the U.S.

His dental practice in Gurnee, Illinois is Delany Dental Care Ltd and in addition to sleep apnea Dr Shapira and his partner Dr Mark Amidei practice General, Cosmetic and Reconstructive Neuromuscular Dentistry. They use their knowledge of Neuromuscular Dentistry to treat patients with Chronic Pain, Chronic Daily Headaches, Migraines and TMJ Disorders. They are also able to make Pure Power Mouthguards, which are used by professional and amateur athletes to increase physical performance and balance. See the PPM site for more information on these incredible mouthguards. http://www.ppmmouthguard.com/ An exciting study will be released shortly from Rutgers on the effectiveness of these Neuromuscular Mouthguards in enhancing athletic performance. Dr Amidei and Dr Shapira hope to fit members of the CUBS, BEARS, WHITE SOX, and BLACKHAWKS in the coming year and hope to make next year a championship year for Chicago.

Dr Shapira's research in the 1980's at Rush was to evaluate the jaw position of patients with sleep apnea and to compare it to the jaw relations of patients with TMJ disorders. Treating patients with chronic TMJ disorders and severe pain has been a professional passion of Dr Shapira. A story he wrote in Sleep and Health Journal, SUFFER NO MORE: DEALING WITH THE GREAT IMPOSTOR prompted hundreds of patients to find neuromuscular dentists to treat their chronic pain. SUFFER NO MORE IS AVAILABLE AT: http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=237&tid=22

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institute of Health (NIH) published a paper CARDIOVASCULAR AND SLEEP-RELATED CONSEQUENCES OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS that confirmed the research that Dr Shapira did at Rush in the 1980's. This excellent article can be found at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/meetings/workshops/tmj_wksp.pdf

A RECENT ARTICLE IN "Chest. 2008 Aug;134(2):332-7. Epub 2008 May 19. Links a significant increase in breathing amplitude precedes sleep bruxism." This article showed that Sleep Bruxism "is closely preceded by physiologic changes occurring in sequence, namely, a rise in autonomic sympathetic-cardiac activity followed by a rise in the frequency of EEG and suprahyoid muscle activity" This study stated that "Sleep Bruxism (SB) is a stereotyped movement disorder that is characterized by rhythmic masticatory muscle activity (RMMA) and tooth grinding." Sleep bruxism has long been associated with chronic morning headaches, facial pain and TMJ disorders.

"RESULTS: Measurements of respiration showed significant changes over time. Four seconds before RMMA muscle activity, the amplitude of respiration is already increased (8 to 23%); the rise is higher at the onset of the suprahyoid activity (60 to 82% 1 s before RMMA); the rise is maximal during RMMA (108 to 206%) followed by a rapid return to levels preceding RMMA. A positive and significant correlation was found between the frequencies of RMMA episodes and the amplitude of breath (R(2) = 0.26; p = 0.02). The amplitude of respiratory changes was 11 times higher when arousal was associated with RMMA in comparison to arousal alone.

Patients looking for help with Sleep Disordered Breathing, Apnea, Hypopnea, Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome or Snoring can find help at www.ihatecpap.com. Patients looking for help with TMJ Disorders, Chronic pain or wanting to learn more about Neuromuscular Dentistry can go to www.IHATEHEADACHES.org

Dr Shapira is giving his Dental Sleep Medicine course on November 14-15, 2008 and is traveling to India as a featured Lecturer with Dr Alexander Golbin at the end of November into December.

To learn more about the dangers of Sleep Apnea and the treatment alternatives you can use the following resources:

http://www.sleepapnea.org/awake/index.html
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.2417141/k.27D9/Home_of_the_Sleep_in_America_Poll.htm
http://www.sleepandhealth.com
http://www.ihatecpap.com/sleep_apnea_dangers.html

Dr Ira L Shapira is an author and section editor of Sleep and Health, President of I HATE CPAP LLC, President Dato-TECH, and has a Dental Practice with his partner Dr Mark Amidei. He has recently formed Chicagoland Dental Sleep Medicine Associates. He is a Regent of ICCMO and its representative to the TMD Alliance, He was a founding and certified member of the Sleep Disorder Dental Society which became the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, A founding member of DOSA the Dental Organization for Sleep Apnea. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, A Diplomat of the American Academy of Pain Management, a graduate of LVI. He is a former assistant professor at Rush Medical Schools Sleep Service where he worked with Dr Rosalind Cartwright who is a founder of Sleep Medicine and Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr Shapira is a consultant to numerous sleep centers and teaches courses in Dental Sleep Medicine in his office to doctors from around the U.S. He is the Founder of I HATE CPAP LLC and http://www.ihatecpap.com Dr Shapira also holds several patents on methods and devices for the prophylactic minimally invasive early removal of wisdom teeth and collection of bone marrow and stem cells. Dr Shapira is a licensed general dentist in Illinois and Wisconsin.

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