Dr. Edward Shukovsky - Cosmetic Dentistry Blog

Basketball player Shaq O'Neal goes public about his sleep apnea.  Watch the video......

We take our breathing for granted, don't we?  When was the last time you thought about the next breath you were going to take?  Exactly. Our brain stem controls our breathing.  Carbon dioxide builds in our blood stream and the stimulus is there for us to breathe.  It is only when our breathing is a problem that we seem to appreciate what it does for us.  As a doctor of dentistry, I have had an acute recognition of breathing's importance for over thirty years.  It is only recently that I have taken hold of breathing's importance during sleep.  The night is prelude to the day; a bad night leads to a bad day.  Ever 'pull' an all-nighter in college or at work?  How did you feel the next day?  Not so good. Many dentists have gotten involved with nocturnal breathing; making oral appliances that assist in keeping the airway open.  It is when the breathing apparatus is interrupted that all sorts of physiological changes will occur.

Do you have a mentor? Do you have mentors? Is there a person or are there people in your life that you look up to that teach you how to be better?  That you, yourself, would like to be more like.  I have been fortunate to have had a few mentors throughout the years that have changed not only the way I practice dentistry, but have helped shape the person that I am.  But recently I have become a blog-stalker. Yes, I coined a new word.  Hello Webster's New World Dictionary!  And when I think of a mentor, I am now including someone that I never met.  He is a careful teacher that communicates his passion of sleep apnea so well that I cannot wait for his next blog.  His blogs are far reaching and diverse.  Even though his blogs center on sleep, they have a renaissance approach, bringing observations that one would not expect from a physician that specializes in sleep apnea and Ear, Nose and Throat medicine. 

The residents of Fairfield County, Connecticut, in cities like Stamford, Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien and Norwalk do not seem to have the time to go to a sleep center/hospital.  This is in spite of the fact that such a study could reveal sleep apnea, a health risk that affects an estimated twenty million Americans.  Now it is possible to have a sleep study done in the comforts of one's own home, in one's own bed.  For people that have severe time limitations,  the Itamar PAT-200 can be a time saver,  a convenience and, very possibly, a life-saver.