“The evidence of the connection between oral health and overall health becomes more evident every year,” said Nick Abruzzo, Patterson Dental’s director of marketing, equipment. “Sleep apnea is the perfect example of a way that dental technology can cross over and have a really positive impact on overall health.”

Generally speaking, oral appliances work by shifting the lower jaw forward to prevent the soft tissue in the throat from collapsing, thus increasing the size of the airway to allow for more consistent air flow. And there continue to be new developments in dental technology to address sleep apnea and its health impact.

“Patterson is committed to finding new and improved ways to help our clients improve the lives of their patients,” Abruzzo said. “We consider ourselves lucky to be working in the dental industry at a time when changing technology continues to provide new ways to impact the oral health, and overall health, of the communities we serve.”

Sleep apnea is a chronic condition that requires long-term management. Lifestyle changes, mouthpieces, surgery and breathing devices can successfully treat sleep apnea in many people.

Left untreated, sleep apnea can:

Increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity and diabetes

Increase the risk of, or worsen, heart failure

Make arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, more likely

Increase the chance of having work-related or driving accidents