How many pillows should you sleep with?

Is there a possible hidden meaning behind needing more than one pillow to sleep?

Some patients truly think I am psychic, I start to bring the dental chair in the lying down position, and they keep saying they can’t go down very far. They’ll yell stop when I’m barely half way.

I stop, bring the chair up again and go- so do you sleep with 2 or 3 pillows under your head at night?

If you can’t lie down in a dental chair, then you likely cant lie down on a bed either.  If you find that lying flat on your back is uncomfortable, or you need to prop your neck up to sleep then you could have some underlying breathing issues, or silent reflux.

If there is an obstruction (large tonsils, nasal obstruction, large tongue) then when you lie down, it might be making it harder to breathe, and your brain wants to protect that airway, but making you change positions (so only allowing you to fall asleep if your airway is more open) It’s actually very clever!

You might have some serious silent reflux, and unless you’re upright it could get quite painful- again a very clever self defence mechanism.

So if you think this could be you, we can do a full assessment, and if you qualify you can do our free home sleep study. From there we may need to have an ENT check your airways to make sure everything is healthy and clear.

Publisher: Heidelberg Dentist

How to treat snoring & sleep apnea

If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea or think you might have some form of sleeping issue you likely know the feeling of waking up tired and groggy. But when sleep apnea keeps you from getting a good night’s sleep, the impact goes beyond feeling tired.

Sleep is a natural way to boost your mood. People who have poor sleeping patterns report negative emotions such as irritability, anger, and sadness. Getting a good night’s sleep increases your feelings of positivity and happiness.

The negative effects of sleep deprivation extend beyond your daily moods, too. Lack of quality sleep affects your mental health in the long-term, as well. Adequate sleep can alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, which allows you to better control how you manage stressors in your life.

Sleep apnea also impacts your overall physical health, too

During sleep, your body produces proteins that help fight inflammation and repair damage done to your body. If you are sleep deprived, you are more susceptible to infections and less capable of fighting them. Your immune system gets suppressed when you do not get good sleep.

Unfortunately, many people have undiagnosed sleep apnea. They might snore and wake up feeling tired but have not yet been diagnosed with sleep apnea. Snoring is one of the most common disruptors of sleep and can be a symptom of sleep apnea.

If you are not getting a good night’s sleep—or you snore through the night—being evaluated by your doctor for sleep apnea is an important first step to finally getting the full, refreshing night sleep you deserve. 

And we have more and better treatments for sleep apnea than ever.

While a common sleep apnea treatment is a CPAP machine, there are plenty of other options as well. CPAP machines are cumbersome, loud, difficult to clean, and disruptive to your sleep. Thankfully, a CPAP machine is not your only option for treating sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea can also be treated with an oral appliance called a mouth guard. The guard positions your jaw to keep your airway open, so you can breathe easier and get a better night’s sleep.

Make your appointment today to see how you can get relief from these symptoms and to start living life on your terms again.

How does sleep apnea treatment work?

At Heidelberg Dentist, we know how important a good night sleep is and believe everyone deserves to sleep soundly and wake up feeling fully refreshed. That is why we offer all patients a free, no-pressure sleep apnea consultation. 

During your consultation, we will answer all your questions, compare options for getting a full night sleep, and suggest the most appropriate treatment plan for your case.  

We will also let you know what more information we need and if you havent had a sleep study in the last 12 months, we can provide you with a take home one - for free.

If a custom sleep apnea mouth guard is right for you and you decide to move forward, we will take a mold of your teeth so your mouth guard is a perfect fit. 

Your custom mouth guard will then be made and you will be invited back in for a final fitting.

Once you are completely happy with your mouthguard, you will be ready to go home and finally get the comfortable and restful sleep you deserve. It is that easy.

Who is sleep apnea treatment for?

Before you can be considered a candidate for sleep apnea mouth guard treatment, you will need to have been diagnosed with sleep apnea by your physician. 

If you have been diagnosed with mild to moderate sleep apnea, a mouth guard can help. But remember, a mouth guard is not your only option.

Our dentists have taken special training from pioneering sleep apnea researchers and they can help you understand all your options to let you know what will work best in your case.

What is the cost of sleep apnea treatment?

Out-of-pocket costs to treat sleep apnea depends on your specific needs and what insurance coverage you have, which could help offset some of the costs. 

At Heidelberg Dentist our expert team will help you understand your out-of-pocket costs before moving forward. 

If you need help fitting your treatment into your budget, we will also show you several flexible financing plans.

Don't you owe it to yourself to fix your sleep so you can start living live again?

Or you can book an appointment by calling us on (03) 9459 6300

Publisher: Heidelberg Dentist

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

Did you know the #1 symptom of sleep apnea is snoring?

But don’t worry, not all snorers suffer from sleep apnea. A telltale sign is usually snoring accompanied with silent breathing pauses along with choking or gasping for breath.

If you’re dealing with any of these signs, then make sure you read till the end:

• Snoring loudly or frequently
• Silent pauses in breathing
• Choking or gasping sounds
• Unrestful sleep
• Daytime fatigue
• Waking up often to go to the bathroom
• Insomnia

Most importantly, untreated sleep apnea can badly impact your health — high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, teeth grinding, depression, anxiety, weight gain, and asthma are all on the list.

And that’s not all...

Due to poor sleep quality and daytime drowsiness, people with sleep apnea are up to five times more likely to get into a car accident.

All this might sound alarming, but there are actually many ways you can attack the problem.

If you think you might be suffering from sleep apnea, then the safest thing to do is secure your consultation by calling 94596300

Publisher: Heidelberg Dentist

Straighten kids teeth without braces

Have you started worrying about your childs crooked teeth?  Did you know that crooked teeth could  indicate underlying serious health problems?  Your childs crooked teeth could lead to misaligned jaws which could lead to an array of serious health problems into adulthood.

Most parents ensure that their childrens dental habits are looked into.  Even more is that most forward thinking parents actually make sure their childs teeth and jaws are growing properly which can lead to a balanced jaw growth.  

 Crooked teeth can lead to confident issues in children and nowadays we don’t wait till the children have reached in their teens to do something about it. We have techniques and technology for as early as the age of 3 where we can help children develop better jaws, teeth and a healthier smile. 

The (BIG) side benefits are that if you take these steps now, you can potentially save yourself thousands of dollars down the line and help your child get the best possible facial growth and smile.

Have you been told…

…that you should just wait until all your child’s permanent teeth have come through and THEN put braces on. However, often by this stage there has been irreversible damage that can lead to expensive surgery and the painful need to remove teeth that could have been saved.

If the cause of the crooked teeth is not addressed, placing braces on teeth could be like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic - sure they will look straight, but the delay would have done nothing to ward off impending disasters like poor sleep into adulthood, chronic pain or airway problems.

Mums and dads are often shocked when I tell them that crooked teeth are usually the result of poor oral health habits:

•           Not swallowing properly
•           Not breathing through the nose
•       Not keeping the tongue in the right place

A (fun) fact: The tongue is one of the strongest muscles and can exert up to 500g of force, but it only takes 1.7 g of force to move a tooth (ie via braces)

If that surprised you:

Scientific research proves that it only takes 6 months of poor sleep to cause permanent damage, to the brain, to the heart and throughout the body.

You see, the REAL point of orthodontic treatment and braces is to give your child longer-term health benefits to improve their quality of life in adulthood. Beautiful, straight teeth are just a happy bonus!

How, you ask? Because by fixing the combined forces of the tongue, cheeks and lips, which is what orthodontic treatments correct,  you will help to minimise the chances of your child relapsing into the bad habits above.

So does my child now have these problems for life?

No, the underlying issues can be fixed. Its not always necessarily by me, but I can help with either directing you to the right place or with training the oral habits and testing out the origin of the poor sleep, mouth breathing, or misalignment of teeth.

But that’s only if you take action now, because these preventive treatments only work during certain stages in your child’s physical development.

Preventive orthodontic treatment is a combination of exercises (breathing, lips, tongue position) that corrects poor oral habits and sometimes along with the use of a removable dental device.

Its been proven preventive orthodontics are a better option in every sense for your child and your wallet.

But how do I know that my child even has these problems?

There are many signs that point to a potential problem, which may be fixed by preventive orthodontics :

•         Mouth Breathing (Day or night)
•         Snoring
•         Fussy Eating (especially with certain food)
•         Restless Sleep
•         Bedwetting (Between the ages of 5-8+)
•         Night terrors/Sleep talking/Sleep walking
•         Teeth grinding in their sleep
•         Prolonged colds or repeated ear infections
•         Difficulty to wake up or getting tired during the day
•         Neck pain/Back pain

I can confidently promise you that we can help. We will listen. If you tell us that your child has these symptoms you won’t be dismissed as a paranoid parent.

Why? With over 10 years experience in this field and helping hundreds of kids avoid braces and promote healthy facial growth. I have seen first hand how 3 out of 4 children have some form of malocclusion. Seeing years of consistent results (better sleep and behaviour, no need for braces) it’s clear that early intervention is the key.  Instead of waiting until all their adult teeth appear and ultimately being left with expensive and painful options (a higher chance of teeth removal or surgery) it is best that we assess children early to see if preventive orthodontics is an option.

For an obligation free chat, please call 94596300 

Publisher: Heidelberg Dentist

What is a take-home sleep study & do you need one to fix your sleep?

What is a sleep study?

A sleep study is essentially a recording while you sleep to measure your snoring, your efficiency in breathing, what stage of sleep you are in, your heart rate etc to see if you are sleeping effectively.

Why should you get a sleep study done?

If you feel you are not sleeping properly over a long period of time and not sure why, or if your GP/physician or gentle family dentist feels there is some abnormal activity happening in your sleep, they may ask you to have a sleep study?

It’s a good idea to get a sleep study if you have one or more of these conditions/symptoms:
1. Consistently poor sleep
2. Difficulty waking up even after 7-8 hours of sleep
3. Difficulty falling asleep (more than 10-15 minutes)
4. Snoring
5. gasping for air when you sleep
6. Partner complaining snoring is too loud
7. Day time sleepiness, whether this be at work, home or even while driving
8. High body mass index (BMI)
9. High blood pressure
10. Clenching or grinding your teeth at night
11. Male over 40 years of age
12. Difficulty breathing on your back when you sleep

There are two other interesting factors that are a little different from the list above, but just as important for deciding if you're in that group for who a sleep study might make a world of difference. So you should get a sleep study done if you're:

• Male and your shirt collar is 17 inches or larger; or
• Female and is your shirt collar 15 inches or larger.

How do you do a sleep study?

A sleep study can be done overnight at a hospital, or you can take home a smaller unit and do one in your own home. At Heidelberg Dentist we can loan out our take-home unit to our patients who qualify for our free take-home sleep studies.

These take-home sleep studies can get us some quick results to see if there is a problem that needs to be investigated further. If further tests are necessary we can help you organise them with the best practitioners in Melbourne.

This video is as an introduction to the take-home sleep study unit we use and you can get a sense of just how easy it is to do a take-home sleep study in the comfort of your own bed:

Can sleep study results be wrong?

There are a few reasons why the results from take-home sleep studies could be incorrect or inconclusive:

• The machine was configured incorrectly 
• The electrodes weren't put on properly 
• You didn't sleep well with it on and so the results aren't complete

Depending on the issue, sometimes we ask you to sleep with it for a couple of nights in a row so we can get an average result.

Can a take-home sleep study be done during the day?

Yes. Especially if you are a shift worker, we still get the good and reliable results.

As long as you are sleeping for at least 4 hours your results will be reliable and we will be able to draw logical conclusions from your results.

Research proves that undertaking prolonged shift work can really mess with your biological clock. Some diseases like Type 2 Diabetes are known to be more prevalent in shift workers.

So while a sleep study will not help to prevent diabetes, it will definitely help you understand whether you could be sleeping better. Good sleep helps us bodies in a number of really powerful ways.

What do the sleep study numbers mean?

The main number that you should know is the AHI which means the apnoea/hypopnea index. This is essentially the number times you stop breathing every hour on average.

For example, if your take-home sleep study returns an AHI of 25, you have moderate sleep apnoea. It means you stopped breathing for over 30 seconds 25 times an hour (on average), which is equivalent to being smothered by a pillow 25 times an hour (scary!).

The following numbers should only be used as general guides ("rules of thumb," if you like) because your situation and your health needs are unique:

• For children and teenagers an AHI above 0 is a problem. We don't do kids sleep studies in house, these must be done at the children's hospital. However, we do have other options before we go down the sleep study route.
• An AHI under 5 is considered normal for adults.
• An AHI between 5 and 15 for an adult is considered mild apnoea.
• An AHI between 16 and 30 for an adult is considered moderate apnoea.
• An AHI above 30 is severe and anyone with this reading should seek immediate medical help from a qualified dentist or sleep physician.

So call us on (03) 9459 6300 or book an appointment online for your personalised sleep assessment and to understand how this treatment may benefit you:

Get Free Sleep Study

Or you can book an appointment by calling us on (03) 9459 6300 during business hours

Publisher: Heidelberg Dentist

9 Big Life Issues Caused By Poor Sleep & How You Can Fix Your Sleep

Sleep is a fact of life that most of us Australians take for granted. Our ignorance of just how sleep can affect every facet of our lives causes us to neglect our sleep at the altar of our work, social life, priorities, and ultimately, our long-term health.

Poor sleep can have many effects - bad mood, fatigue, lack of focus, not working effectively, constantly feeling sleepy, poor libido and so many more health and social issues. Long-term sleep deprivation can have major consequences on your overall health. Research has shown that poor sleep is linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease (among other conditions). A solid night's sleep is essential for a healthy life.

What are the big health issues caused by poor sleep?

Poor sleeping patterns over a prolonged period of time can result in many serious health issues. Here are 9 of them:

• Brain fog - this will make it hard for you to concentrate even on simple tasks
• Falling asleep during the day - it can be dangerous if operating machines or driving
• Feeling drowsy - it is very important to stress this effect on you, especially if driving
• Diminished cognitive ability - sleep plays a very important role in thinking and learning. With the lack of sleep, these functions can be altered
• Lower libido - lack of sleep affects libido due to lack of energy, tension and sleepiness
• Depression - depression "feeds" off of lack of sleep. It can even aggrevate sympotoms of depression
• Early ageing - lack of sleep can age your skin (dark circles, saggy skin and fine lines). This is caused by the hormone cortisol (stress hormone) which is released when there is a sleep deprivation. Cortisol breaks down collagen (protein which makes skin elastic and smooth)
• Effects on cardiovascular system - sleep affects processes which keep heart and blood vessels healthy. It also affects body's ability to heal and repair these organs
• Hallucinations - in sever cases of insomnia, hallucinations can occur (seeing things that are not there)

What can you do to improve your poor sleep patterns?

Fixing your sleep patterns can be hard to do for many of us. Your current sleep patterns are the result of many, many years of your brain and body being conditioned to react and adapt in a certain way. You need your brain and your body to unlearn many of these habits in order to develop new, healthy patterns that will benefit your long-term health. Although this can be a difficult process, it is not impossible and if you value your longevity and quality of life, the fruits of trying and succeeding may just be worth the trouble.

Try these 3 powerful techniques to fix your sleep patterns and improve your long-term health:

• Maximise sleep drive - it is low in the morning and it increases during the day. It is easiest to fall asleep when your sleep drive is high (when you feel the most sleepy). Go to bed only when sleepy. Have in mind that naps during the days will affect your bed time hours at night. It is helpful to stick with the same "waking up" and "going to sleep" patterns every day (even on the weekends), to help keep the consistency.
• Exercise - physical activity and exercise can help improve the sleep patterns.
• Minimise disruptions - minimise any type of internal or external disruptions in the evenings. Try to reduce the time with the TV, computer, phone etc. External stimuli will disrupt the processes which affect the sleep patterns. Avoid caffeinated drinks, nicotine and alcohol before bedtime since these will affect the sleep pattern since they act as stimulants.
• Calm your mind - try to relax before going to bed. Relaxing background music and feeling "cosy" will help de-stress from the day. Turn your thoughts to relaxing things and introduce meditation into your regular schedule.

If you have tried many of these techniques to fix your sleep patterns or if you believe these techniques have not worked for you before, talk to our caring dentists about other options that may be more suitable to your exact situation by calling us on (03) 9459 6300. Visit our sleep apnoea help page to understand whether you too might suffer from sleep apnoea. If you prefer to consult our dentists straight away, you can book an appointment by calling us on (03) 9459 6300 or by booking an appointment online now:

Or you can book an appointment by calling us on (03) 9459 6300

Publisher: Heidelberg Dentist