How Snoring and Sleep Apnea Affects the Health of Children

Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Yes. Mike Wiegenstein: Alright, 90% people were wearing it. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Well, it’s been like conservatively 80%, different statistics by different people. Mike Wiegenstein: Okay, I always think most people and the ones I have talked to that habit they don’t wear it, like I said it’s cumbersome, it’s hard to sleep, and you can’t roll over. When it leaks it wakes you up. Its obviously in those extreme cases, it’s obviously better than the alternative which would be not waking up but I talked to you a little about. I want to don’t want to call it a mouth guard or mouth piece but for people that don’t have severe cases, for people and the majority of people don’t. We know that it’s a small percentage will have that extreme case. We know that most people don’t. Most some times with the right diagnosis you can treat it with a mouth piece yes. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Yes, yes, yeah that’s what this is. This is a little mouth piece that you wear. Mike Wiegenstein: Just put in. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Put it on at night and when you wear and you go and sleep with it. Mike Wiegenstein: And then Dr. Leonard J. Feki: You don’t have a conversation with it, you sleep with it. Mike Wiegenstein: Well. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: If I sound a little funny, it is because of something in my mouth. Mike Wiegenstein: But I think its important that people know that isn’t the only answer because I have some friends who snore who sleep the wife complaints about him and it’s a joke, we laugh and you know and then obviously now I am probably going to have little more talk but I talked to him about it and he said I am not wearing one of those. And I said but you need to try. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Did he try that? Mike Wiegenstein: No. No, he has somebody in his family did have worn, it may be his dad I don’t know but who had one and who he saw and he is like me. I have told you the same thing when I saw that. I said I would almost rather you know have the alternative. There are a lot of people out there Dr. Leonard J. Feki: You really want to do that? Mike Wiegenstein: No, no; I don’t but what I am saying is this that there are people out there that I don’t think go and get help, or afraid to go Dr. Leonard J. Feki: That’s good because I have it also when I had got a big mouth I have it also in and all I did was I remember the night I really didn’t want to face it that I had the problem -- next our neighbors went up to the lake fishing said that I am scaring the fish and so we never did catch any fish, we had to go across the lake because that’s where the non-snore. Mike Wiegenstein: So, you got your you have. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: But I what scared me was that’s my father had this kind of stuff all over him. He had a heart attack and he was in the hospital, he had all this stuff on him and that kept me from having it for about 10 years because I dint want to get tested for it. Mike Wiegenstein: So, with that in mind sometimes preconceived ideas or preconceived notion Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Absolutely Mike Wiegenstein: Dictate what we do. Why would I go to a dentist and not a physician? Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Unlike that’s another great question that nearly makes the --. You know physicians treat the whole body and they are trained to treat the whole body and dentists may I work from here up that’s it. So, their signs and symptoms that I can pick up in the mouth looking at and seeing an obstruction or seeing that there is something wrong with the nose. I cant breathe, or the power is high and these things I can spot and so if the dentist is trying to spot these things, its then the next the next step is fairly easy. Mike Wiegenstein: So, you are saying because you are in there all the time anyway. That’s your area of expertise. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Yeah, that’s all I do. I work in the mouth and that’s why you breathe. Mike Wiegenstein: I read recently now up until this time the sleep test was always done in a hospital to see if you had it but I read recently that the dentistry that dentist have been given the ability to perform the very simple at home test. Tell me about that. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Yeah, dentist and physicians can take this test, that’s called an ambulatory test or a take-home test where the patient can take the instrument home, put it on their hand and they can have a computer read-out the next day what went on that night. The goal standard is called the PSG polysomnogram which is done in a hospital or sleep environment and it requires multitude of leads on the head and body what a lot of people don’t want to go to a stranger why they are not getting sleep, a lot of people feel funny by people watching them sleep. Mike Wiegenstein: So, why don’t you do it in the hospital, I mean this is me. My normal sleep if I was in the hospital is much as I would try, I probably wouldn’t sleep. The same way or the same comfort that i was sleeping in my own bed. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: That’s what that’s one of the hang-ups, its one of the several hang ups and they have also found that they haven’t got all the readings they want because of things like that. So, this is done in the environment at the own patients home, its very. Mike Wiegenstein: So, you give them the command. They see you, you decide you look, they may have a problem, may snore they are fatigue, they are tired, they got headaches I mean its amazing, high blood pressure -- what this cause but they come and see you, you look at them and they need the test, you give them the unit. Is not that big I don’t think because its on their arm right, they go home they have a normal night stress and normal night sleep like they would normally do in their home, they bring the unit back in and you can get the readings of that as to what’s going on during the night. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: That’s it. Mike Wiegenstein: And then from there Dr. Leonard J. Feki: From there we see what the patient has and then its diagnosed to see we work with physicians on this to make sure that everything is alright. Mike Wiegenstein: How long is this test have been available. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: You know I don’t know, I probably say about 5 years. Mike Wiegenstein: Because they don’t everybody ever had talked to because I like to talk to people. I like to really find out Dr. Leonard J. Feki: I really don’t know how long I found out that about 4 years ago. Mike Wiegenstein: It’s up until recently, if probably I don’t know if it’s been used a lot, just dint do it but most everybody had spoken to they had sleep apnea that they wanted the test gone to the hospital. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Right. Well, that is the goal standard and that’s what’s the industry demands and early this year the American Academy of Sleep Medicine gave the nod to lets go ahead and try this and see I guess because there is really three kinds of people, there is people that have a mild case, there is people that have moderate and then they are severe. Okay, if so if the patient has a mild to moderate and that’s what is diagnosed then we can go to an oral appliance. An oral appliance, now there are like 86, if you imagine 86 FDA approved mouth appliances for sleep. Mike Wiegenstein: But I want to make sure because I talked people and they don’t know, most people don’t know that you know high percent of the cases can be treated with just that little oral appliance you showed me and I think people are not getting checked and that’s my concern if they did check. We are told at a time, I want to ask you right now I know you have a lot of information on your website I know that you have a -- but if somebody is at home, thinks he may have a problem, you know snores wakes up fatigue tired like I do every morning, they have questions, they have concerns they want to know where to go to find somebody in their area that help them, I met your staff they are very nice, can they call you or can they get you online, will you help them. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: They can call me, they can call my take a look at the website, and they can look at the American Academy of Sleep Dentistry which is Mike Wiegenstein: And that is American Academy of Sleep Dentistry is who Dr. Leonard J. Feki: Is a part of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and to find out about oral appliances to find out about who does them, who is lined up with them, who is associated, who is a member just like they would check out -- physician for this type of thing I would suggest that that the challenges is in the medical profession and with physicians in a four hour, four year educational span of their education, they are doing the whole body. They spend two hours in four years and that’s with the National Foundation of -- Institute of Health, Research and found they spend two hours on sleep. Mike Wiegenstein: Right. Dr. Leonard J. Feki: It’s understandable that that’s why there is a profession of the pulmonologists, ENT that have come out to specialize in this stuff. So -- Mike Wiegenstein: Okay, we are completely out of time and have to be come back on this. This is a huge issue that affects 40, 50, 60 million people in this country alone. So, I want to thank you for coming in and spend sometime with me sharing the information. You have been watching Medical News Network. I am Mike Wiegenstein. Until next I wish you good health.