Dentists Advocate Bariatric Surgery For Some Sleep Apnea Patients

LOVELAND, CO, February 28, 2011

A group of dentists across the country who offer sleep apnea treatment by way of oral appliance therapy (OAT for short) are also helping patients explore other methods for improving their overall health and treat their obstructive sleep apnea at the same time. One option that they are discussing with patients is bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) such as LAP-BAND surgery.

Of course, these dentists don't pretend to be physicians and always refer patients to bariatric surgeons for proper consultation, but dentists like Denver sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Kevin Berry, want patients to know that in certain cases, bariatric surgery can be very helpful in treating sleep apnea.

"Sleep apnea is not unique to obese individuals, but if a patient is very overweight and their obesity is threatening their lives, then we have to keep all of the options on the table," says Dr. Berry.

Co-therapy for sleep apnea treatment, that is a collaboration between physicians, sleep apnea dentists, and other healthcare professionals, is becoming more and more common in the healthcare and dental industries. "Every patient is unique, and because obstructive sleep apnea is a life-threatening condition, we have to pull out all the stops and do what is best for the patient," says Omaha cosmetic dentist, Dr. Roger Roubal.

Sleep apnea dentists regularly work with physicians like pulmonologists and general practitioners to get an accurate diagnosis for sleep apnea by way of sleep studies (polysomnograms). Because obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition, it requires a diagnosis by a medical doctor. Once diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, a patient must work with his/her physician and, in increasingly numerous cases, his/her dentist to find a sleep apnea treatment regimen that will improve their quality of sleep breathing.

The LAP-BAND procedure by Allergan, Inc, has become a wildly popular weight loss surgery option, and the FDA has recently lowered the minimum required body mass index for the procedure to 30, down from a minimum BMI of 40. According to a clinical review of bariatric surgery published on a LAP-BAND website, in a study of 136 individuals, bariatric surgery was resolved or improved in 83.6% of patients. Why not 100%?

"Sleep apnea can be caused by a number of physiologic problems. You can be a marathon runner and if your throat naturally collapses when you lay down and go to sleep, you're going to have problems with sleep apnea," says Corpus Christi sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Don Lowrance, "Obesity just poses an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea and can exacerbate a problem with OSA, yet not be the ultimate cause of the condition."

For more information about dental sleep apnea treatment, visit the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine website: http://www.aadsm.org/

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