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Sleep Breathing Disorders - Hygienists on the Front Line
January 2008 www.rdhmag.com
by Kent Smith, DDS, and Shirley Gutkowski, RDH, BSDH
The clock reads 1:00 as you walk into the reception area to claim your first patient
after lunch. Mr. Pickwick, however, seems to be disinterested. Who would go to
sleep when he is about to be retrieved by his favorite hygienist? If Joe is in REM
sleep, he is already inappropriately dreaming about the voluptuous hygienist who cares. He
has most likely drifted into Stage 1 sleep and can be easily awakened for his appointment.
Maybe he stayed up late to finish a report. Maybe he was kept awake by a newborn. Or,
maybe he has a sleep disorder that has yet to be identified by a physician.
Sleep disorders remain unidentified and undiagnosed 90
to 95 percent of the time. In fact, 40 million Americans suffer
from a chronic, long-term sleep disorder. Starbucks sells
256,000 gallons of coffee every day, and many such drinks
are in the hands of those people when they walk into the
dental office. If they didn’t show, maybe they overslept — or
were arguing with their spouse over the snoring that created
interrupted sleep. Nearly 25 percent of sleep partners
sleep in separate rooms, and The New York Times reported
recently that 60 percent of custom houses would have dual
master bedrooms by 2015. So what, right?
Regrettably, a recent survey reported that 76 percent of
physicians who are not sleep specialists do not screen their patients for sleep breathing disorders (SBD), and therefore
do not refer their patients for testing and treatment. It’s time
for dentistry to step up to the plate.
The impact of sleep deprivation affects nearly all the
body’s systems affected by infl ammation. A recent study
The impact of sleep deprivation
affects nearly all the body’s
systems affected by inflammation.
A recent study by the American
Academy of Periodontology
showed that lack of sleep ranked
just under smoking as the
No. 2 lifestyle factor negatively
impacting oral health.
(see www.rdhmag.com for the rest of the article)
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