Ohio Dentist's Personal Crusade Against Sleep Apnea Epidemic

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After treating 4,000 sleep disorder patients since 1997, Ohio dentist James E. Metz has made detecting and treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) his life's mission. To date, he has given 1,000 sleep apnea presentations in 23 states and seven countries, averaging three conferences a month. He'll host an Advanced Sleep Dentistry and TMD (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) course with 200 physicians and dentists on November 9-11 in Columbus, and will present at the Ateneo Odontologico Mexicano in Avandaro, Mexico on March 11-14. In mid July, he lectured at the third annual Sleep Conference in Huangshan, China. He's currently developing a series of OSA courses for the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM).

According to AADSM, at least 12-18 million adults in the U.S. have OSA. Fifty-seven percent of American stroke sufferers have it¹, and 86% percent of obese Americans are afflicted by it².

Since losing 100 pounds in 2004 and alleviating his own case of OSA, Metz vowed to help eradicate the sleep disorder on a global scale. He believes that collaboration between dentists and sleep physicians is essential to treating the disorder, and hosts 400 doctors annually at his office for training programs. His OSA dental appliances minimize the symptoms of snoring, and have shown high compliance rates compared to notoriously cumbersome CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machines³. AADSM estimates that up to 50 percent of sleep apnea patients don't comply with or tolerate CPAP therapy. Patients like oral appliances because they're non-invasive, comfortable, quiet, and portable. Oral appliance therapy also has been shown to reduce blood pressure⁴.

"Sleep apnea is one of the biggest heath issues facing our population," Metz said. "Proper detection and appropriate dental appliances can help sufferers live up to seven years longer⁵."

Moving forward, Metz is researching ways to develop simple at-home OSA screening devices.

About Dr. James E. Metz
James E. Metz, D.D.S. has practiced dentistry since 1973. In addition to running a private practice in Columbus, Ohio, he's a Diplomat of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, affiliate director of The Ohio State University Medical Center Sleep Fellowship Program, and an expert witness to the Ohio State Dental Board. He's a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, American Academy of Restorative Dentistry, American College of Dentists, American Dental Association, European Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, and International Academy of Gnathology, and has authored numerous articles about sleep apnea. Visit themetzcenter.com and columbusdentistry.com for more information.

1 "Age-dependent associations between sleep-disordered breathing and hypertension." circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/5/614.abstract
2 "Obstructive sleep apnea is underrecognized and underdiagnosed in patients undergoing bariatric surgery." ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22310840
3 "Review of oral appliances for treatment of sleep-disordered breathing." ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17136406
4 "Effect on blood pressure of oral appliance therapy for sleep apnea syndrome." ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16479762
5 "Mortality and apnea index in obstructive sleep apnea." ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3289839

Contact
Alexandra Kelley Fox: [email protected]

SOURCE Dr. James E. Metz