Sleep Apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Is Becoming More Common And Is Often Undiagnosed

Jane E. Brody writes in her “Personal Health” column for the New York Times (5/27) that obstructive sleep apnea “is on the rise because the most frequent cause is obesity, which continues its unrelenting climb among American adults.” Brody adds that “obstructive sleep apnea afflicts about 9 percent of women and 24 percent of men, most of them middle-aged or older, yet as many as 9 in 10 adults with this treatable condition remain undiagnosed.”

Dental professionals can point their patients to the ADA’s consumer website, MouthHealthy.org, for information about sleep apnea. The ADA Catalog also offers the brochure, Do You Have Sleep Apnea? Talk to your dentist about snoring.