Frequently Asked Questions

• What areas of dentistry does Dr. Lipton concentrate on?
• I am very fearful about dental treatment, what options do I have for treatment?
• I am medically compromised and cannot sit through dental visits, what options do I have for treatment?
• If I have treatment in the hospital, when might I expect to return to work?
• Do you put patients to sleep in the office?
• Do I need a referral from my physician to have hospital dentistry?
• Do you accept new patients?
• Do you accept new patient emergencies?
• Do you accept my insurance?
• What forms of payment do you take and do you offer payment plans?
• Do you have evening or Saturday hours?
• Do you do laser dentistry?
• What is sleep disordered breathing, what are some ways it can affect me, and what can you do to help?

What is sleep disordered breathing, what are some ways it can affect me, and what can you do to help?

 Sleep disordered breathing consists of snoring and/or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
OSA causes snoring, airway blockage and sleep disruption. It occurs when the tongue and soft tissues in the back of the throat collapse to block the airway during sleep, producing pauses in breathing that can occur a few times or several hundred times a night, disrupting sleep. OSA can cause:

• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• An increased risk of high blood pressure
• Higher rates of stroke, arrhythmias, heart attack, and even death.

Seventy-five percent of adults report at least one sleep disorder symptom, and 23 percent of sleep partners’ sleep in separate rooms. When disturbed by partners sleep problem, the other partner loses an average of 49 minutes of sleep per night. Twenty-five percent of adults report that sleep problems affected their lives; they also had sex much less often or had lost interest. Sixty percent of adults drove drowsy in the past year. Dr. Lipton fabricates oral appliances that are indicated for individuals that snore and/or have mild or moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Oral appliances are also indicated for individuals that have severe obstructive sleep apnea who refuse to wear CPAP.