Sleep deprivation isn’t just a direct threat to a person’s health; it also makes normal activities riskier. At Fresh Meadows Dental Care in Flushing, we provide patients with oral appliances that can ease bruxism and obstructive sleep apnea (OAS). This is an especially important treatment option in light of new research linking OAS with car crashes.
People with OAS are not always aware that their quality of sleep is suffering. They may wake up with jaw pain as a result of their jaws moving forward in an attempt to keep their airways open, and they may snore, but they may not be taken fully out of sleep several times per night. However, the new research found that people with mild OAS are 13% likelier to cause a car accident and that people with severe OAS are 123% likelier. Worse, once people are sleep deprived, they have difficulty determining whether their impairment is mild or severe.
Custom-fitted oral appliances that ease bruxism reduce one source of a patient’s sleep disruption. People with sleep apnea can drive safely if they are undergoing treatment, which is why patients should help their dentists and sleep doctors to work together.
Farid Hakimzadeh, DDS, operates Fresh Meadows Dental Care at 58-47 Francis Lewis Blvd., Suite 100, Flushing, New York, 11364. To schedule an appointment, call 718-224-7272 or visit Fresh Meadows Dental and fill out a contact form.
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