Gary Radz, DDS Blog

The Effects of Sleep Apnea

October 22, 2013

In our previous post, we talked about what sleep apnea is and what often causes it. Today, we would like to focus our attention on how untreated sleep apnea can affect your everyday life and your relationship with a partner. After all, sleep apnea isn’t just a slight inconvenience—it can have a serious impact on a patient’s health and quality of life.

But first, a reminder: sleep apnea is a condition in which a patient stops breathing for 10 or more seconds while asleep, causing the brain to wake the body up to breathe. Some patients aren’t even aware of waking up because they only move to a lighter stage of sleep. But whether you’re aware of it or not, a spotty night of sleep is still a spotty night of sleep.

Patients who struggle with sleep apnea may experience changes in mood, or they may find it difficult to stay awake at work or behind the wheel. This drowsiness can, in turn, put the patient at risk of having an accident. What’s more, with the stress and fatigue of interrupted sleep comes an inability to concentrate and even memory loss. More severe problems include high blood pressure and heart problems, or even premature death.

But these are just the symptoms that directly affect you. Because snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea, your partner may not be getting a full night o rest either. Snoring can also put a great deal of strain on an otherwise healthy relationship.

Do any of these symptoms sound familiar? Thankfully, Dr. Gary Radz can provide relief with sleep apnea therapy. For a diagnosis or consultation, call our Denver dental office. We serve patients from Denver, Englewood, Aurora, Lakewood, Greenwood Village, Centennial, and beyond.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

September 19, 2013

Do you routinely feel tired during the day, even after going to bed early the night before? Have others noticed that you seem stressed or moody? All three of these are signs that you may be struggling with interrupted sleep as a result of sleep apnea.

Patients with this underdiagnosed condition stop breathing for 10 or more seconds during sleep. As a result, the brain sends out a signal waking them up to take a breath. Not every sleep apnea patient will wake up all the way, though; some only move to a lighter stage of sleep, which explains how a sleep apnea patient may be unaware of his or her problem.

In many cases, sleep apnea is caused by obstruction. This type is known specifically as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, or OSAS. What causes the obstruction? The most common causes include the size of the patient’s airway passages, swelling, and the position of the tongue.

After the sleep apnea patient has returned to sleep, the cycle of sleeping and waking will continue throughout the night, leading to the drowsiness, stress, and moodiness we mentioned above. Sleep apnea can also make it difficult to concentrate and cause memory loss or accidents at home, work, or behind the wheel. If left untreated, it may also cause high blood pressure, heart problems, and premature death.

But thankfully, sleep apnea is treatable. As a locally and internationally recognized dentist, Dr. Gary M. Radz can provide effective relief at his Denver dental office. CPAP is a common and universally recognized treatment, but custom-made oral sleep appliances are quickly becoming the new standard for care.

Are you worried that you might be struggling with sleep apnea? Dr. Radz of Denver can help. Call us today for an appointment. We serve patients from Inglewood, Aurora, Lakewood, Greenwood Village, Centennial, and all surrounding areas.

Learn More about Cosmetic Dentistry with Dr. Gary Radz

August 15, 2013

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — admin @ 7:43 am

Every day, all around the world, dentists are changing the lives of their patients with cosmetic dentistry. And among all the cosmetic services used by dentists, porcelain veneers are one of the most popular. With porcelain veneers, doctors have a way of improving the appearance of a patient’s front teeth, helping them overcome problems like staining, cracks, chips, or slight misalignment.

Because placing porcelain veneers is an art, though, dentists who are new to cosmetic dentistry might need some help learning how to use this or any other cosmetic service. That’s where you’ll want to turn to Dr. Gary Radz. As a practicing Colorado dentist with years of experience, Dr. Radz has made teaching others his mission. Every year, Dr. Radz gives 35-40 presentations all across country, the goal of which is to help dentists become better at cosmetic care.

Do you want to learn more about cosmetic dentistry? Find out where Dr. Radz will be teaching next by looking at his schedule. You can also read about the different kinds of classes he offers by clicking here. And if you have questions or want to find out how you can be a student in one of Dr. Radz’s upcoming classes, give us a call.

Helping dentists provide better care is what we’re all about.

Dr. Gary Radz Presents: Live Webinar On Composite Bonding

August 18, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 11:55 pm

On Aug. 24 at 10AM MST Dr. Radz will be providing a live webinar for 1 hour (CE credits available) on composite bonding. The program will focus on successful Class II restorations using new materials and techniques. The program is sponsored by Voco and can be found at www.vocolearning.com. You will need to sign up and “seating” is limited. As of today the course if half full. Hope you can join us.

New Composite Resin Technology

April 1, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , — admin @ 11:11 am

In the April edition of Inside Dentistry I had an article published about a new composite resin technology. The folks at Septodont are using new resin chemistry to create a composite that has some very interesting physical properties and future potential.

This has been a fun one to research as it potentially a big breakthru in composite chemisty…..and Septodont’s restorative materials facility is right here in Colorado. So it’s been fun to work with a local company!

If you like to read more about the new bonding chemistry, go to the below link:

http://www.insidedentistry.net/article.php?id=3398

Porcelain Veneer article published in Inside Dentistry

March 31, 2010

Filed under: general,lectures,new ideas — Tags: , — admin @ 12:58 pm

http://www.insidedentistry.net/article.php?id=3405

The above link will take you to an article that I just published in April 2010 issue of Inside Dentistry.

The article focuses on the esthetic potential of minimal prep, no prep, and a new concept that I’ve been working on that we call partial prep for porcelain veneers.

The article shows several example of these different options to give the reader a perspective on the options that are available. Also helps to provide the reader with some parameters of case selection……which is key in these conservative cases. I think that there is alot of exciting applications in cosmetic dentistry for these ideas.

I’m always interested in feedback.

Let me know what you think.

Link to article on Digital impressions

January 13, 2010

I just found the below link that will take you to a recent article I published on Digital Impression systems.

It may be of interest to those dentists looking at getting into digital impressions. We’ve had our iTero system for 18 months now and love it. From single unit crowns to 10 units of no prep veneers to bridges, the iTero has been great!

http://teethspark.com/dr-gary-radz-on-digital-impressions/

Dentistry Today’s Leaders in Dental Continuing Education

January 5, 2010

In the December issue of Dentistry Today I had the honor of being recognized along with 249 other dental educators. Each year Dentistry Today list the 250 educators in the dental industry to acknowledge their efforts to help pass on knowledge to their peers.

I’m proud that this is the 6th year in a row that Dentistry Today has placed me on this list of my peers and mentors. It is truly an honor.

The below link will take you to the digital issue of the Dentistry Today’s Dec ’09 issue:

http://www.dentistrytoday.net/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=69B43E194DEC46FE9C901156B97A0F84&nm=Clinical+Articles&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=2&did=394B46355FE14714A35A2A09643B73D0&dtxt=December+2009

 Gary Radz, DDS
Cosmetic Dentistry of Colorado

American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry meeting in Hawaii

May 6, 2009

I have just returned from attending and presenting at the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry’s (AACD) annual meeting.

It was a busy week. I gave three different presentations during the week. The first was a discussion in the corporate symposium venue discussing Septodont’s new composite n’Durance. The second was on the AACD main program reviewing and discussing the topic of Elective Cosmetic Dentistry and Adolescents and Young Adults. This program focused on the many conservative options available to enhance the smiles of this patient demographic. Lastly, I ended the week with a workshop on porcelain veneer preparation skills. In this workshop we discussed and practiced with several variations of porcelain veneer preparation design and how material selection effect the design.

In addition to my speaking responsiblilities I am on the Professional Education Committee (PEC) for the AACD. This committee is responsible for the the annual scientific session, along with other education efforts of the AACD. In Hawaii my duties where minimal and mostly in a support capacity. However, I will be the AACD program chair for the 2011 meeting in Boston. So my work for the AACD and the PEC has just begun.

The AACD is a great organization. It is one of my favorite weeks of the year. A great week of learning, sharing, and seeing many friends.

Oral Health journal cover!

April 16, 2009

I just got in the mail today the April edition of Oral Health. Oral Health is one of the largest dental journals in Canada.

Last year the editor asked that I submit an article for publication to the journal. I sent in two case studies on patients that I had recently completed no prep Venus veneers on. He liked the article so much he requested that I submit a photo of the patients for the cover of the journal…..which I, of course, did.

the following link will take you to the online version of the article: http://www.oralhealthjournal.com/issues/ISarticle.asp?id=209315&story_id=132400142748&issue=04012009&PC=

the article discusses the thought process behind no prep veneers as well as some techniques. importantly for dentists this article was published to demonstrate that it is possible to get great esthetics and great soft tissue response with veneers on unprepared teeth. Given all the negative critiques of Lumineers and other similar products, in this article I tried to disspell some of the myths that are out in the profession.

i welcome comments and other ideas on this subject.

for those interested in pursuing more about this concept of no prep veneers I can refer you to two places:

1. I learn much of this information from Dr. Dennis Wells in Nashville. Dennis provides inoffice courses on this subject. go to: www.musiccityseminars.com for more info…….great course.

2. I’m chairing the 2nd Annual North American Symposium on No Prep Veneers in Cleveland June 5,6. This program brings together many experienced dentists and ceramists to discuss the concept of No Prep veneers. go to: www.acesthetics.com for more info.

 

Gary Radz, DDS

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