A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Schleicher completed dental school at the
University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston. He currently serves the State of Texas as a licensing
Dental Examiner administering licensing exams is 38 states. He publishes articles and lectures on a
variety of dental topics including Dental Sleep Medicine and TMJ Dysfunction.
Dr. Hans Schleicher began hes dentistry career over 30 years ago when he founded his practice in 1980. He had a simple goal and a plan to make it a reality. His goal was to create a unique, multi-disciplined practice that could not only meet the needs of his patients, it would result in a nurturing, lifelong professional bond with each. That personal bond means that even thirty years after opening his doors, Dr. Schleicher personally answers each email and returns every call within 24 hours.
Dr. Schleicher, who is noted for his medical treatment of sleep apnea and snoring in Houston was recently quoted as saying, "Easy access to your doctor is important and in the end, that is really one of the critical things that is missing in today's medical and dental practices. The doctor / patient relationship should really be a partnership and in our office, as dental care givers, all of our staff view our roles as partners with the patient in their dental health."
Recognized as a leader in his field, the University of Texas at Austin and University of Texas Dental Branch in Houston graduate has served on the dental advisory board and as dental director for Aetna, US Healthcare, NYLCare, Sanus and Dentex. He is a current member of the American Academy of Periodontology, Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, American Academy of Oro-facial Pain. He is a noted author and lecturer on topics including TMJ Dysfunction and Dental Sleep Apnea.
Dr. Schleicher serves the State of Texas as a licensing Dental Examiner administering licensing exams is 38 states. This experience plus his impressive background avails him to the latest sleep disorder issues and treatments.
He and his wife, June, have a 25-year-old son currently attending dental school and a 22 year-old daughter at the University of Texas in Austin.
To learn how Dr. Schleicher can help you is by scheduling an informal meeting. Give us a call to set up an appointment: 713 932-0441.
Hans Schleicher DDS Houston
Hans Schleicher DDS
Over the course of my career, I have routinely helped my patients:
Reverse type 2 diabetes
Eliminate irritable bowel syndrome
Lower blood pressure without drugs
Reduce menopausal symptoms naturally
Sleep better and regain their energy
Regain control of their autoimmune conditions
Restore harmony to their circadian rhythms
Add life to their years, as well as years to their life
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Most people don't wake up one morning and suddenly discover that they have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It is an insidious disease that can slowly creep into your life as you get older and often causes snoring. Patients often start to feel like they have less energy, less stamina, less mental focus, and they most naturally attribute that to the side effects of aging. Of course, as we grow "less young" things do start to change, we start to lose muscle tone in areas of the body, areas start to sag, our metabolism begins to slow down, sleep patterns can start to change, and that is where this discussion comes in as it relates to OSA.
So what exactly happens during an OSA episode?
When there is an obstructive sleep apneic event breathing totally stops, in just a few seconds your oxygen blood levels begin to go down and your carbon dioxide levels start to go up. The first physiological response from your brain is that it senses this and at first attempts to get more blood to your system by increasing your heart rate significantly which in turn causes an increase in blood pressure. As more seconds go by many patients will begin to clench their teeth together as the muscles try to open the airway by tensing up the biting muscles. Oxygen levels continue to decrease and at some point the brain figures out they is an obstruction and the patient will gasp or cough to clear the obstruction temporarily until the next apneic event occurs. In some patients this can cycle through over a hundred different events in the course of one night.
The end result is the patient awakens the next morning thinking that they slept for 8 hours, but in fact they have been in an oxygen depleted and fractured sleep pattern that never allows them to enter the deeper zones of sleep where all the magic happens. That magic in deep sleep is when all of your all of your neuro-transmitters are replenished, your hormonal system gets balanced, and your immune system gets bolstered. When this occurs repeatedly over time health and well-being issues are compromised and patients start to feel their vitality slipping away and have discounted it as a fact of aging.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment - The Good News!
Obstructive Sleep Apnea can be reversed by getting oxygen to the brain and re-establishing the deep sleep we all need to be healthy and that is done by making sure air is getting into your lungs through your airway without interruption. There are two ways to do this, one is to use a CPAP machine. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure. It is a machine that forces air into your airway using compressed air. Many patients cannot use this system because it is very uncomfortable and hard to get used to.
Another way that is approved by the FDA is to use a specialized oral appliance that simply positions your lower jaw forwards and down to naturally open the airway and keep the airway from collapsing. Patients find oral appliances both comfortable and effective in treating OSA as an alternative to CPAP machines.
Two Treatments for Sleep Apnea
So patients have two choices and both can work – we specialize in oral appliances so if your are frustrated with CPAP or just don't want to go that direction then Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Dental Medicine may be your solution.
Come see us for a consultation to see if an oral appliance will work in your situation. We can tell with a free 90 second test to determine if an appliance will work in your situation: 713 932-0441.
TMJ Pain and Popping
What you can do to alleviate the symptoms
There are some things that patients can do to help relieve your TMJ symptoms while waiting for appliance therapy to help control your symptoms and alleviate your pain.
Here are some suggestions that many patients find beneficial.
Soft diet with no gum, hard candy, beef jerky, tough steak, ice chewing, etc.
Cold packs alternating with moist heat or a heating pad applied to area two times a day for 20 minutes, as needed.
Anti-inflammatory medications, such as Advil or Aleve (if you are able to take such medications), as directed to control inflammation and discomfort. Initial dose of 600 mg Advil every 6-8 hours for 5 days.
Controlled minimal mouth opening – for example any wide yawning motions should be consciously controlled so as not to stress the joint.
Be aware if you find your teeth together. There are only two times your teeth should be touching:
1). When chewing food.
2). When swallowing. If you find that your teeth are together during the day or night, this puts loading forces on the TM joints and can help create muscle spasms and aggravate inflammation within the TM joint.
Understanding TMJ Pain and Popping
Understanding the nature of TMJ Pain and Popping and what you can do to help the symptoms is half of the battle in helping to find relief.
Some patients can self resolve their symptoms just by awareness and education regarding the problems and causation of TMJ disorders.
More information and website links are available online at www.memorialdds.com.
Tension and Migraine Headaches due to Jaw Positioning
Tension and Migraine Headaches because of Jaw Positioning
Tension and migraine headaches, including muscle tension and migraines are the most commonly diagnosed forms of headaches. Millions of people suffer from headaches and they have many causes.
Many diagnosed migraine type headaches by health care practitioners are often treated using a variety of pharmaceutical agents developed to help patients find relief from these symptoms.
There are several distinct types of headaches that commonly occur
Muscle tension headaches usually occur in the temples or neck and are constant and sometimes throbbing.
Migraine type headaches are associated with neurological symptoms and may include light sensitivity, sound intolerance, and dizziness.
Sinus headaches may give the patient a sense of pressure in the forehead or under the eyes.
If you are under the care of a physician and your headaches are being managed well you are fortunate. If you are having headaches that have not been professionally diagnosed and finding yourself frustrated by lack of any significant relief, a dentist that has been trained in treating headaches may be able to help. There are significant neuro-muscular and jaw positioning factors that often contribute to these conditions that many physicians are unaware of because their training did not focus on these newer treatment modalities.
Treatment
The headache cases that seem to be non responsive to the conventional pharmaceutical therapies are the headache types that we specialize in treating - tension and migraine headaches. We have treated hundreds of patients successfully using a discipline of non invasive appliance therapy and little to no use of pharmaceuticals. Oral appliance therapy has been found to be very effective in many of these situations.
There are a variety of oral appliances that we use. There is no "one size fits all magic bullet" that works on every patient. This is because each patient has unique medical and dental circumstances that vary, so it is critical that the proper design and appliance type be determined to meet the needs of each individual situation.
A very generic term for an appliance of this type of oral device is called a "Occlusal Orthotic" appliance. The theory behind many of these designs involves the phenomenon known a "proprioception". This is the brain's subconscious and intuitive ability to know where your individual body parts are relative to each other. That is how you can close your eyes and take your index finger and place it on the tip of your nose or even in your ear canal very precisely - when you think in depth about that simple act it is just one very small example of how our subconscious mind functions on a daily basis and can be translated into hundred of actions that take place every waking hour internally and externally in our bodies.
Here is why that is important regarding migraine and tension headaches and most clenching situations. Physiologically your upper and lower teeth should contact each other in only two instances:
• When you chew
• When you swallow
(Try to swallow with your teeth apart - you can do it but is feels awkward because your jaws need to be braced against your teeth for the swallowing muscles to work efficiently).
When you are not chewing or swallowing your jaw should be relaxed and a space 1/4 inch or so should exist between your upper and lower teeth. If your teeth are together due to subconscious clenching this is not a normal position. (You do not have to be bearing down with any force - just the fact that your teeth are together means the muscles of mastication are contracting). Teeth chronically together also compresses the TMJ joint and if the meniscus or TMJ cartilage is not in the correct position this closed position will not allow the joint to function properly or to heal properly if we are attempting to treat the joint. That is why massage therapy may bring temporary relief but soon the closed clench syndrome returns and the symptoms are back again.
Here is the information you need to understand
When your back teeth (molars) are in contact, that sends the message to your brain that you are in "chewing mode" so the brain sends a message back to the muscles activating the muscles of mastication - primarily the temporalis muscles (over your temples) and the masseter muscles in you cheek area. If these muscles have been "working" all night or all day in some instances it often results in the migraine like or tension headaches that can be so debilitating. Sound and light may become unbearable for many patients on top of the screaming pain.
Here is where it gets interesting. Your back teeth were designed for chewing forces in excess of 1,000 lbs., per square inch (PSI). Your front teeth were designed for smiling and incising or cutting food at a much lower PSI.
Alternative Treatment For CPAP Intolerance
If you have trouble sleeping and have used CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machines but found the results unsatisfactory, there is CPAP alternative treatment in Houston.
You don't need to suffer from the sleepless or restless nights. Dr. Schleicher is a specialist with a proven track record of providing patients with the latest and most effective methods of treatment.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) has historically been treated using a CPAP machine. However, it may not be effective. A CPAP machine may not be effective because it can be cumbersome for some patients. It requires a face mask to pump compressed air into the body to keep the airways open during sleep.
Many may not use the CPAP machine because among other things it causes:
• Discomfort
• Lack of mobility when in use
• Irritation around the nose area
• Air leaks from mask
• Sinuses and stomach irritation
• Uncomfortable pressure
• Disturbing machine noise
• A claustrophobic feeling when using
• Bothersome tubes
• Dry air or an unpleasant temperature
Unfortunately for some sleep sufferers, a CPAP machine simply isn't a practical treatment method. For some it may worsen the condition, resulting in additional symptoms. When this happens CPAP intolerance is the result.
Most common symptoms of CPAP intolerance may appear as:
• Headaches
• Facial or sinus irritation
• Fatigue or even drowsiness
• Bloating or dietary changes
Oral Appliance Therapy - Alternative to CPAP
Fortunately, Dr. Schleicher is versed in effective treatment options. If you suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea, our Houston area patients have discovered comfortable, CPAP-machine alternatives and getting the full night of rest they deserve.
Known as Oral Appliance Therapy, a custom mouthpiece is used to reposition the tongue and lower jaw. This clears the airway and keeps it open while sleeping. It effectively helps you sleep better and treats snoring. There are a variety of mouthpiece choices and Dr. Schleicher will guide you through the selection and fitting process to find the most effective one for you.
If you or a loved one suffers from CPAP Intolerance, contact Dr. Schleicher to begin finding the ideal path to a great night's sleep: 713 932-0441.
Oral Dental Appliances
Treatment for snoring and sleep apnea
Oral Appliances used for the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea, give patients a convenient, portable, comfortable and very effective way to enjoy a peaceful night's sleep.
Dr. Schleicher has found oral appliances often to be the best course of treatment for any level of snoring, as well as mild to severe sleep apnea, especially if patients prefer not to use a CPAP machine, which can be cumbersome, uncomfortable and difficult to keep clean.
Customized Oral Appliances
A wide variety of customized oral appliances are available and each is fitted to the patient based upon mouth size, teeth, previous dental work, etc.
Each patient receives personal instruction on use and care of using an oral appliance.