San Francisco Dental Sleep Medicine

Tongue tie is associated with sleep apnea and can sometimes appear as a forked tongue appearance when sticking out the tongue. It’s usually easier to see as a tight frenulum when the tongue is lifted up. This condition is associated with deficiencies in jaw growth and development leading to less room in the mouth for the tongue and thus more snoring and apnea events. It also restricts the tongue in an inferior position instead of being positioned and stable along the palate. #dentistry #sanfrancisco #dentalsleepmedicine #sleepapnea #tongue #snoring #orthodontics #oralsurgery @ San Francisco Dental Sleep Medicine

"Dr. Chenin is remarkable across the board. I was hugely impressed by the depth of his knowledge and, just as importantly, the time and attention he takes to understand your situation, answer questions, and ensure you are well informed on costs, process, likely outcomes etc. This is the best experience I've ever had with a medical practitioner and can't say enough good things. Best of all, I haven't slept this well in years!"

Dr. Chenin is amazing! In addition to being extremely knowledgeable, he listens to his patients. That extra human quality really makes him stand out among the many healthcare practitioners I've seen.

3D morphing of pre/post septoplasty surgery. A deviated septum can be one reason for difficulty breathing through your nose, chronic nasal congestion, and other problems like mouth breathing. All of which contribute to sleep apnea, which is usually more successfully treated when proper nasal breathing is possible. I refer many patients to the ENT for nasal exams and surgery. Here is a patient of mine who was treated at Stanford to correct a deviated septum. I captured the pre and post 3D image and made this morphing video of the X-rays to show the results. #snoring #sleepapnea #sleepy #sanfrancisco #dentist #septoplasty #surgery #xray #snoring #dentistry

Tongue tie is associated with sleep apnea and can sometimes appear as a forked tongue appearance when sticking out the tongue. It’s usually easier to see as a tight frenulum when the tongue is lifted up. This condition is associated with deficiencies in jaw growth and development leading to less room in the mouth for the tongue and thus more snoring and apnea events. It also restricts the tongue in an inferior position instead of being positioned and stable along the palate. #dentistry #sanfrancisco #dentalsleepmedicine #sleepapnea #tongue #snoring #orthodontics #oralsurgery @ San Francisco Dental Sleep Medicine

Seeing Dr. Chenin was an absolute game changer for me. I snored pretty bad and was keeping my fiancee up late at night. I had an appointment at a sleep clinic b...ut it was several months out and I was looking for CPAP alternatives when Dr. Chenin was recommended to me. From our first consultation I knew I was in good hands.... See more

I used to snore REALLY badly. Not just keeping my wife awake but waking myself up too. After seeing Dr Chenin, doing a sleep study and getting a 3D scan of my a...irways, I was fitted with a custom oral appliance. My snoring is now almost totally gone and the oral appliance is comfortable and easy to sleep with, unlike CPAP machines. Dr Chenin was great and always happy to go into details with me where I was interested. Highly recommend going to see him, really life changing. See more

I cannot say good enough things about my experience with Dr. Chenin. He is incredibly knowledgable, friendly, and understanding of questions and concerns. I was recommended to Dr. Chenin by my doctor for a consult on a dental appliance for my sleep apnea and I can see why my doctor recommended him --- world-class care and a caring provider!

A steep or narrow palatal vault can be a sign of sleep apnea. Here is a 3D CBCT image of a patient with a sever steep palate, major transverse discrepancy, skeletal class II, and significant overjet. The palate is so narrow that the tongue cannot rest upon or within it. It is in an inferior position marked by the red circles showing the black airspace where the tongue should be. When there is less room for the tongue to exist within the mouth properly, it’s more likely to fall backwards into the airway space causing snoring and sleep apnea. #sleepapnea #snoring #dentist #anatomy #sanfrancisco

Swollen tonsils in adults are fairly common in my practice. I treat sleep apnea and snoring exclusively, so I see them more often than in other practices. Swollen tonsils can contribute to snoring and sleep apnea by narrowing the airway. Also, sleep apnea and snoring can contribute or cause swollen tonsils because typically patients who snore are mouth breathing and have higher rates of dry mouth. Mouth breathing causes and contributes to a host of complications, one of which can be the irritation of the tonsils from excessively dry oral and pharyngeal tissues.

Tori - bony growths that occur on the maxilla or mandible - can also be a sign of bruxism and sleep apnea. This is one of my patients with extra large mandibular tori, diagnosed sleep apnea and bruxism. Tori are thought to deposit as a result of excess bite force and the bone responding by laying down extra bone for support. I see this pattern in many of my patients who clench or grind. If they are clenching or grinding due to sleep apnea stresses, these bone growths can cause matters to get worse overtime by taking up room in the mouth that should be for the tongue, and thus causing more snoring and airway collapsing. #snoring #sleepapnea #sanfrancisco #dentist #bruxism #nightguard #dentalsleepmedicine

Even slightly worn teeth is a sign of dental grinding and grinding can be a sign of sleep apnea. Grinding (bruxism) can be caused or associated with sleep apnea because when you snore or when your airway completely closes, the amount of oxygen you’re getting can drop and this causes a stress reaction to happen. Many people clench or grind when under stress. Clenching might not cause teeth to wear down, so a sign that you are clenching could be morning headaches and/or head, neck, or jaw muscle soreness. #snoring #sleepapnea #sanfrancisco #bruxism #dentalsleepmedicine #headache

3D morphing video showing how an airway expands with the use of an oral appliance. I created this video by superimposing two 3D CBCT scans of a patient in the Invivo software. One scan was taken without wearing the oral appliance and the other was taken while wearing it to demonstrate how the airway opens and expands by moving the jaw slightly open and forward. Oral Appliance Therapy is used to control snoring and sleep apnea caused by a collapsing airway. #snoring #sleepapnea #sanfrancisco #dentalsleepmedicine

This is what sleep apnea looks like in one of my patients using the SnoreLab app. The app does not diagnose or rule out sleep apnea of course, but it does record snoring levels and graphs it throughout the night. This patient’s epic snoring was reduced to almost nothing with the use of his oral appliance shown in the second pic. #sleepapnea #snoring #sanfrancisco #dentist @ San Francisco, California