Snoring, Diabetes and Physicians

DiabetesHealth.com released a statement today that said

Despite the fact that 94 percent of doctors are aware of the association between sleep apnea and diabetes, only 47 percent of them screen for the condition in their patients with diabetes. As a result, about 85 percent of sleep apnea cases among diabetics go undiagnosed.

Dentists are probably worse than physicians in this regard. If you are a patient with diabetes, ask your dentist why such an important relationship of diseases goes unnoticed in his/her office. For the most part, dentists see their patients more frequently than physicians see theirs and it would be a simple matter for a dentist to ask a few simple questions about sleep-breathing problems especially where dentistry can play such an active role in the management of these problems. Again from DiabetesHealth.com:

Dental Device (a.k.a. oral appliance, intraoral device, or mouthpiece):
Breathe through your nose. Now move your lower jaw forward. Does the back of your throat feel a bit more open, making it a little easier to breathe? A dentist or orthodontist can custom make a device for you to wear at night that will keep your lower jaw and/or tongue forward.

Help us get the word out about the relationship of sleep apnea and diabetes, ask about screening at your dentist's office.

Dr. Barsh

Snoring Isn't Sexy