People with Obstructive Sleep Apnea often snore, gasp, stop breathing, and have interrupted sleep patterns. As a result, they can experience daytime drowsiness, fatigue, foggy minds, to name just a few. While Sleep Apnea and snoring are serious disorders that can worsen many health conditions, the Vivos Appliance System represents a breakthrough treatment proven to naturally remodel, reposition, and develop the anatomy that surrounds the human airway.
A Permanent, Non-Surgical Solution to Sleep and Breathe Better
Dentists play an important role alongside medical professionals when it comes to treating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). If you have been diagnosed with OSA by a physician, or if you experience some of the symptoms associated with a poor night’s sleep such as mouth breathing, snoring, and/or lack of energy, this may indicate that you aren’t getting the oxygen you need to function properly.
One of the common ways dentists treat sleep apnea is with an appliance worn in the evening that advances the mandible. There are hundreds of designs for appliances with different features and capabilities; however, these appliances are only effective when worn. Snoring and other symptoms return as soon as the appliance is no longer being used.
Vivos offers the first of its kind—a dental appliance that permanently corrects sleep apnea and reduces snoring, straightens your teeth, and alleviates symptoms of TMJ disorder. Dr. Sykora received early Vivos training and is one of only a handful of dentists in Pennsylvania able to prescribe these applilances.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a condition that makes it difficult for your body to receive the oxygen you need to properly function. Without enough oxygen, you will feel drained and sluggish. It is estimated that 25% of American adults have sleep apnea and 90% of those are undiagnosed.
What Are The Warning Signs?
The most obvious signs of sleep and breathing disorders are:
– chronic snoring
– gasping episodes during sleep
– daytime drowsiness
– and morning headaches.
These less obvious signs mauy indicate that you have abnormal or interrupted breathing during sleep:
Chronic pain
Obesity
Hypertension/high blood pressure
Mood swings
Depression & anxiety
What Are The Types Of Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) often occurs due to undersized upper and lower jaws, which force the tongue backwards into the airway pathay, making it impossible to breathe freely while sleeping. This is why people with OSA will typically snore or sound like they are choking in their sleep. Another cause of OSA is having too much fatty tissue in the back of the throat, which is why obesity is a risk factor for OSA.
Central Sleep Apnea occurs when the brain does not send the right signals to the breathing muscles. This is not something that can be treated by a dentist, but requires the involvement of a specialist.
What Are The Health Related Issues?
Health problems that can arise from untreated sleep apnea can include:
– stroke
– high blood pressure
– headaches
– diabetes
– depression
– mood swings
– heart failure
– ADHD that becomes worse
– overall lack of wellbeing.
Without enough oxygen, your body will have a difficult time functioning. Beyond the health effects, this can translate to not having enough energy to stay awake past dinner, enjoy your kid’s birthday parties, go for a bike ride, or even drive your car. In fact, when you are tired, the basic and often mundane activities of life can put you to sleep. This can make it dangerous to get behind the wheel and could compromise your work performance. Essentially, your quality of life can be greatly diminished.
How Does The Vivos System Work?
Dr. Sykora uses the Vivos appliance (formerly DNA appliance) system to widen the upper dental arch and nasal passages, allowing more optimal airflow and aligning the bite. During your initial consultation process, through use of advanced scanning technology, Dr. Sykora will determine if you are a good candidate for this treatment and develop a customized plan for you. The appliance is worn in the evening and during the night while you sleep. It is easily re-activated weekly by you, which expanded the device as you progress through treatment. While treatment times vary, Dr. Sykora generally has patients use the appliance for 18-24 months. Throughout your treatment, he will track and document the growth and expansion of your upper arch and airway. The best part is, the Vivos appliance is non-surgical and permanently treats the obstruction so you can breathe better without a lifetime dependence on a CPAP or sleep device!
Patients who undergo Vivos Appliance therapy often report a noticeable improvement in facial symmetry and aesthetics as their Sleep Apnea symptoms dissipate. Also, many patients with a history of headaches and pain from TMD (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) often find lasting relief.
See our article in West Chester Lifestyle magazine:
+–Innovative Dentistry
New oral appliance providing relief of Obstructive Sleep Apnea is now available from K.C. Sykora DDS – Family and Implant Dentistry
It sounds almost too strange to be true: A person’s inability to get a good night’s sleep might be part of a human genetic story that goes back hundreds and likely thousands of years.
Research by anthropologist Robert Corruccini, conducted over the past 30 years, demonstrates that the skulls of humans living over 400 years ago show very little evidence of malocclusion (crowded teeth and jaws). This is likely related to eating behavior: Back then, children were breastfed for two or three years and then ate a diet composed of hard, tough foods like dried meat and hard root vegetables. They had very little incidence of crooked teeth. By contrast, contemporary Americans have notably crooked teeth and small jaws. And underdeveloped jaws, it turns out, have a more sinister outcome than just crowded and crooked teeth.
Local dentist Dr. K. C. Sykora believes that these small, modern jaws are at the root of our current epidemic of sleep apnea. “When the rigid jaws are underdeveloped, the tongue is forced backward and spills into the area where air needs to pass from the mouth and nose to the lungs,” he says. “This is the source of most obstructive sleep apnea.”
According to Dr. Sykora, “Dental schools have traditionally taught us to be tooth doctors who focus on cavities, gum disease, root canals, broken teeth and the like. Recent extensive continuing education has given me new eyes and caused me to think like a mouth doctor. For a mouth doctor trained to look for them, there are many signs pointing to underdevelopment of the jaws, and it absolutely shocks me how many people exhibit these signs.”
In addition to a full spectrum of general and implant dental services, Dr. Sykora is now offering a revolutionary new treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
OSA is diagnosed by sleep-certified physicians primarily from data obtained during sleep studies that measure a variety of physical inputs. While CPAP machines and traditional oral appliances can treat the symptoms of OSA, Dr. Sykora believes that with the emergence of a new family of oral appliances, the possibility of treating the root cause of OSA may be within reach.
According to Dr. Sykora, this therapy depends on activation of stem cells located where facial bones join together and in the fibers that hold the teeth into the jaws. Intermittent mechanical signaling of these stem cells through the use of an innovative, specific oral appliance epigenetically triggers growth of the jaws and airway.
This new device, the Vivos appliance, is non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical, painless, and was cleared for use by the FDA, states Dr. Sykora. “Multiple clinical trials are underway, which seem likely to confirm results of thousands of individuals who’ve seen dramatic improvement in their OSA symptoms, with many of them no longer needing a CPAP machine. This is also good news for those diagnosed with OSA who, for various reasons, are unable to tolerate a CPAP.”
Before undergoing this therapy, patients go through a rigorous diagnostic process that identifies what is “off” in terms of proper jaw and skull relationships. Once that 3-D diagnosis is obtained, designing the proper configuration of the appliance is relatively straightforward, says Dr. Sykora, who adds that treatment times range from one to two years, and also may be paired initially with chiropractic and myofunctional therapy for best results.
Only dentists who have undergone specific training by Vivos Therapeutics have access to these appliances. For more information, call Dr. Sykora’s office at 610-696-9119 or go to vivoslife.com.