Sleep Apnea 101

Imagine you just got home from work, you're tired, you ate dinner, watch some TV, and now are ready for some well-deserved rest. You even go to bed an hour early so you can get some more sleep. 

Sounds like a nice scenario, right? Well, this is a common scenario for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people every day. Some of those people have something called sleep apnea which can really put distress on your sleep quality and even more importantly, the oxygen to your body (yes, that includes your brain). 

What is sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a rather serious sleeping disorder which happens when the breathing you have during sleep is interrupted. For some people, their sleep can be interrupted multiple times during the night, perhaps dozens to hundreds of times. This means that with all those interruptions of not breathing during the night, your body may not be getting enough oxygen, this affects your body. 

There are two kinds of sleep apnea: obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is much more common for people to have than CSA; this is when there is a blockage in the airway that causes the apnea. Usually, this is caused by soft tissue collapsing in the back of the throat. CSA is less common and the airway is not blocked. With CSA, the brain forgets to signal to the muscles that they have to breathe; this is a flaw in the respiratory control center. 

Ask your doctor or dentist if you are at risk for sleep apnea. Contact Rubino Dentistry - a Park Ridge dentist about sleep apnea treatments. As a Park Ridge dental office, we see a fair share of patients who had sleep apnea but got treatments for it and we see a big difference. 

Why Is Wearing a Mouthguard Important in Sports

Sports are a big deal in the United States, we are a country that loves athletes and we love participating in sports. Professional sports are the big events to watch but we also have developed a love for the youth and adolescent sports in the country as well. They can be fun to watch and have our children participate in them. However, sports can be have injuries and those injuries can be painful, especially when they happen to the mouth. Even when your child plays a non-contact sport, like soccer or basketball, they can still get a tooth injury because of a ball or accidental hand to the face.

So how do you prevent this from happening? Wearing a mouthguard can help. How common are injuries in youth sports? Well, recent reports have stated that nearly 36% of accidental injuries that happen to children happen from sports; of those injuries, approximately 15% of them happen to the mouth.

What kind of injuries can happen to the mouth? There are three classifications:

1. Fracture: This is when there is a root fracture, a broken tooth, or a chipped tooth.
2. Avulsion: This is when the entire tooth is knocked out, including the root. 
3. Luxation: This is when the tooth is knocked into a wrong position but is still in the socket. 
1. Extruded: the affected tooth looks larger than the teeth around it. 
2. Lateral displacement: the tooth is moved forward or pushed back. 

The thing about dental injuries is that they are often easily prevented and one way to help prevent them is to wear that mouthguard. Some dentists are able to custom make them for you; this dentist in Park Ridge is a carrier of UnderArmour mouth guards. Indeed, mouth guards can seem rather hard to wear because they can make it harder to talk. 

If you have any questions about the UnderArmour mouth guards or questions regarding other dental concerns, then contact Rubino Dentistry - a Chicago dentist. 

The Effects of Smoking on Teeth

We have all heard about how smoking is bad for us to some extent; it is mentioned quite a bit in school health classes and we even see ads in magazines, newspapers, on billboards, TV, and radio. However, do we know the details of the effects of smoking on teeth? All of the effects the habit can have on teeth? Let's find out.

If you decide to smoke, then you should look at this complete list of the effects of smoking on your oral health:

• Foul smelling breath
• Discoloration of teeth- predominantly yellow
• The salivary gland on the roof of your mouth can become inflamed (swollen & irritated)
• An increase in the buildup of plaque (and even tartar) on your teeth
• An increase in the loss of bone in your jaw
• A higher risk of leukoplakia, or, white patches in your mouth. 
• A higher risk of contracting gum disease, this can lead to tooth loss
• A longer healing time and process following tooth extraction, periodontal treatments, and oral surgery
• A decreased success rate for dental implants
• A higher risk for developing oral cancer

So we mentioned gum disease, or gingivitis, and one may wonder how you can get that due to smoking. 

Well, when smoking, the tobacco affects the ligaments in your mouth that attach your teeth to the bone. When you smoke, it can even impact the function of the gum tissue cells. When your gum tissue cells are not able to function properly, it makes your mouth more susceptible to infections and other dangers. 

In case you are wondering what kind of tobacco can impact your oral health, it includes cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. 

No, smokeless tobacco does not exempt you from these dangers. 

If you have questions or would like to schedule an appointment, then contact Rubino Dentistry - a dentist in Park Ridge.