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Alicia had suffered from headaches, particularly migraines for as long as she could remember.   “My son is 12, and all he’s ever known is that mom is going to have a headache, sometimes lasting up to 15 days,” says Alicia.

“If they make a drug and market it as a headache treatment, I have probably tried it,” says Alicia.  “I was desperate for relief and even tried Botox treatments every 6 months, having the nerves in my neck blocked by radiofrequency, and took anti-psychotic medications but nothing worked.”

Alicia’s headaches were not only affecting her but her family as well. “I missed school events, athletic events and family get-togethers because of the constant headaches.  I would lose patience and get angry faster and my husband had to pick up the slack.  I knew I needed to find an answer soon.”

After exhausting what seemed like all of her options, Alicia came across an article about headaches being linked to TMJ and Sleep Apnea.  It mentioned visiting a dentist trained to treat these disorders.

Alicia’s headaches were a sign of a much bigger problem. She is one of the 18 million Americans with sleep apnea, a chronic condition in which the airway collapses during sleep.  According to the National Sleep Foundation, 90% of these patients go undiagnosed.  The pauses in breathing can last from 10 seconds to a minute or longer and can increase risk for high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, depression, anxiety and teeth grinding .  If you can’t breathe in deeply or frequently enough, you cannot get a sufficient amount of oxygen. Nor can you exhale all the carbon dioxide you’re supposed to. This is why many patients with sleep apnea wake up with headaches that may last into the afternoon.

Also contributing to her headaches was a condition known as temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD), a problem involving the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and surrounding muscles.  Clenching or grinding which can be a result of many factors including stress, sleep apnea, and misalignment of your teeth, causes constant strain on the muscles in the head and neck and puts pressure on the TMJ causing pain.

Treatment options for TMD include wearing an orthotic (appliance) for a certain period of time to stabilize the jaw and place the bite in the most relaxed position possible for the muscles, joints, and nerves.    This allows your TMJ to move into proper position relaxing your muscles, relieving pressure and eliminating painful symptoms.

Treatment options for sleep apnea include CPAP, surgery or wearing an FDA and American Academy of Sleep Medicine approved oral appliance.  The appliance works by holding the airway open during sleep preventing both snoring and sleep apnea.

Since treatment for sleep apnea and TMD, Alicia has completely eliminated all of her headache medications.  “Now I sleep better and feel better and I’m not missing out on family events,” says Alicia.

“I can’t stress enough, that if you’ve tried everything else for headache relief and nothing works you really should consider being screened by a trained dentist for TMJ and sleep apnea.  What do you have to lose?” says Alicia.

For more information contact Dr. Rod Willey of the Illinois Institute of Dental Sleep Medicine in Dunlap, IL at 309-243-8980 or email us at info@illinoissleepdoc.com.

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Join us for a Free Seminar on Oral Sleep Appliances at the Hult Center in Peoria on August 30th at 6pm.

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“Sometimes I would even wake myself up at night snorting,” says Marcia. “I realized I had some sort of problem, and decided I should discuss it with my physician.”

After discussing the symptoms with her doctor, he recommended she have a sleep test done.  The results showed Marcia had moderate obstructive sleep apnea.

More than 18 million Americans suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea and 90% go undiagnosed.  Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a serious health condition that can increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, depression, cancer, and stroke.  A study in the August 1 issue of the Journal Sleep confirms the urgency of treating sleep apnea. Results show that people with severe, untreated sleep apnea have five times the risk of dying from a heart problem. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S with over 600,000 deaths in 2010.

Marcia’s physician prescribed a CPAP machine to treat her sleep apnea, but Marcia had a hard time wearing it.  “I tried to wear the CPAP for a few years, because I knew I needed to be treated.  I could hardly move when wearing it, and had to lie on my back or the CPAP would come off or make a loud noise as the air leaked out.  Traveling was also really difficult.  I knew I needed to look for something that would work better for me,” says Marcia.

Marcia saw a commercial and article in the newspaper for an oral appliance that treated snoring and sleep apnea.  “I was very attracted to the oral appliance because it was so small and convenient looking. I decided to make an appointment to check it out,” says Marcia.

“The first night I had the appliance, I expected all types of problems getting it into my mouth,” says Marcia. “The doctor said to just look in the mirror while I put it in, and it went in just as slick as can be!”

“I’ve had great success wearing the appliance.  I slept all night long for the first time in a long time.  The appliance is lightweight, easy to manage, and easy to clean.  I’m couldn’t be happier!” says Marcia.

Since wearing the appliance Marcia has noticed an increase in her energy during the day.  “My blood pressure has come down too, and my doctor was able to take me off a blood pressure medication.  Since I monitor my blood pressure daily, I realized the correlation between wearing the appliance and my blood pressure decreasing,” she says.

Oral Appliance therapy is covered by most medical insurances and Medicare.  For more information on oral appliance therapy contact Dr. Rod Willey at the Illinois Institute of Dental Sleep Medicine. As a general dentist, with a Diplomate from the Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Disciplines, Dr. Willey has limited his practice to the treatment of snoring, sleep apnea, and TMJ Disorders with oral appliance therapy. To contact them call (309) 243-8980 or email them at info@illinoissleepdoc.com.