Stephanie Kinsey, DDS, owner and founder of Palencia Dental in St. Augustine, Fla. has continued her focus to treat patients with a specialized medical program to accurately diagnose Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in those who suffer from the common disorder. Sleep apnea is characterized by shallow, infrequent or pauses in breathing during sleep and often indicated by snoring, day-time sleepiness and general tiredness. According to Dr. Kinsey, the sleep disorder is highly prevalent in cardiovascular patients and is also associated with an increased risk of stroke, arrhythmias, hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and coronary artery disease, and has been shown to impact the effectiveness of common health treatments.
“While it’s proven that treating sleep apnea can improve a myriad of health issues, the vast majority of patients remain undiagnosed,” said Dr. Kinsey. “We use a multi-disciplinary program that identifies patients with a sleep apnea screening and an innovative diagnostic sleep test at the patient’s home called WatchPAT™, a small wrist-mounted device,” she said. Dr. Kinsey also helps patients with sleep therapy counseling and testing as a sleep specialist.
“Clinical screening for sleep apnea can provide adequate treatment for patients with improved overall healthcare and better outcomes. Sleep apnea management should no longer be subjected to lack of accessibility for care. The disorder can have far-reaching consequences for patients,” said Dr. Kinsey. “We now have an opportunity to help with a model and product that directly addresses the sleep issue and can be covered by medical insurance.”
OSA occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat fail to keep the airway open, resulting in brief and repeated breathing interruption during sleep. WatchPAT and its accompanying software is an FDA-cleared portable sleep diagnostic system to diagnose sleep related breathing disorders. Specifically, it is a small, wrist-mounted device that enables testing at the comfort of the patient’s own home.
The PAT® (Peripheral Arterial Tone) signal measures the arterial volume changes in the finger-tip and is a reflection of sympathetic nervous system activation. “We believe that WatchPAT is the easiest to use home sleep test on the market,” said Dr. Kinsey.
Dr. Kinsey works with local physician specialists for optimal patient treatment.
Itamar Medical added that WatchPAT has been used by over one million patients and has a low failure rate for self-administered home testing. As a part of the sleep disorder system, Itamar Medical and the WatchPAT™ home sleep testing device enables simple, accurate and fast sleep testing. The breakthrough device has been validated to combine the operating simplicity of pulse oximetry together with the diagnosis accuracy of in-lab polysomnography and the cost-effectiveness of a home sleep test. For more information, visit www.itamar-medical.com.
Dr. Stephanie Kinsey has been practicing dentistry for more than 20 years. Her St. Augustine, northwest St. Johns County dentistry practice is dedicated to restoring and enhancing the natural beauty of one’s smile combining conservative and state-of-the-art procedures along with advanced dental medicine. She is a Fellow with The International Association of Physiologic Aesthetics (IAPA) and serves as a member and Fellow with IAPA’s founding organization, the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI). Dr. Kinsey graduated with honors in 1994 from the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver, Colorado. She was accepted into a General Practice Residency in Chicago, Illinois at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center where she was invited to stay a second year and serve as chief resident.
Palencia Dental is located at 159 Palencia Village Dr. Suites 107-109 in St. Augustine, Fla. For more information, call (904) 474-5444.
