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Monday 8am - 5pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm

Midwest Dental Sleep Medicine Institute

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Bridgeton, MO
Midwest Dental Sleep Medicine Institute

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Wake up feeling well-rested. Dr. Tom Gotsis treats sleep apnea, snoring & TMJ with custom oral appliances, a comfortable, mask-free alternative to CPAP. Louis.

Caring for one patient at a time in Bridgeton & greater St.

11/04/2026

With type 2 diabetes, there are signs you can see. Your A1C goes up, you may have gained weight, you’re going to the bathroom all the time and you’re thirsty all the time.

With sleep apnea, I look at three symptoms: I snore, I wake up unrefreshed and I have daytime sleepiness. But what if you don’t have them?

Then I have to help you understand what your sleep test was about and what it shows. Once you do, you can see how treatment helps you in two ways: a better quality of life, and your body physiologically.

I spend time on that, because you should understand your own results.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

11/03/2026

When I examine a patient, I like to do a lot of show and tell. I show them their airway, and I show them why they may have sleep apnea.

I recently saw a woman who had a scalloped tongue and a narrow arch form. She’d had braces, and four premolars were taken out, so everything got pushed back. As we went through her exam, she started to understand one of the big reasons, anatomically, that she may have sleep apnea.

That was her anatomy, and yours may tell a different story. But I think patients deserve to know why they have a disorder, not just be told what to do about it.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

11/02/2026

One of the reasons people tell me they quit CPAP is that they feel tied down to the bed. They can’t sleep in the position they want.

Position matters, though. I mostly recommend side sleeping. Your diaphragm expands and contracts best when you’re on your side, rather than on your back, and for sure not on your stomach.

If your treatment is getting in the way of how you sleep, tell me. I want to find out what the problem is, because it’s not always just the mask. An oral appliance is another option: a little device in your mouth that lets you breathe much better while you sleep.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

10/30/2026

Jaw clicking and popping doesn't always mean your joint is the problem.

A lot of times it's muscular, not the joint. People call it TMJ because that's what everyone, including dentists in the past, has talked about. Most dentists didn't get great training in occlusion and TM joint dysfunction. Some schools do, but you mostly have to seek it out after graduating. That's why I spend real time on the evaluation, so we treat the actual cause.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

10/29/2026

Alzheimer's risk isn't only about what shows up in the brain.

My bottom line is that Alzheimer's reflects both pathology and resilience. Some people with years of poor sleep and sleep apnea still have clear brains, so I believe there's a genetic component. We need to talk about it with patients. When a family starts talking, as in "Did you know Uncle Joe had Alzheimer's or dementia?", that history may matter. If memory and family history are on your mind, bring it up at your next visit.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

10/28/2026

Your AHI went down, but you still don't feel great. Here's what I do next.

Some patients I deliver an appliance to and they do great, many of them younger with a high AHI. When the numbers improve and a patient still struggles, I ask, "What else is going on?" I look at the foundation: how well they take care of themselves, what their diet is like, and whether they move at all. Walking and some resistance training count. I want to know everything going on in their life, including how they slept as a teenager. I can't whiz through an interview, make a device, and assume everyone will be okay.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

10/27/2026

Using your sleep device and still not feeling right? Let's dig deeper.

It's something I say at my exams. If the device alone isn't helping, work with your primary care doctor, internal medicine doctor, or cardiologist. Ask where your increased inflammation is coming from and what it's doing to your overall health. Treating your airway matters, but it's one piece of a bigger puzzle.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

10/26/2026

Why do you wake up exhausted after a full night in bed?

When you stop breathing, the brain has an arousal that fragments your sleep stages and activates the HPA axis. The adrenals release cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine, so you go into fight or flight with increased sympathetic tone, which keeps you tired in the morning. Cortisol makes you insulin resistant and glucose intolerant and increases inflammation. The relationship with type 2 diabetes goes both ways. Many of my patients arrive pre-diabetic, sometimes already on metformin.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

10/23/2026

Two simple habits that might help you sleep better tonight.

1) Walk about 30 minutes after dinner. 2) Don't go to bed less than two hours after you eat. If you eat at 9 p.m. and go to bed at 10:30, that's an early bedtime, but you're still digesting. Sleep, diet, stress, and movement are the four things I keep coming back to. We have to look at our lifestyle.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

10/22/2026

Sleep isn't "just rest." It touches every system in your body.

We need to stop thinking of the body in pieces: head and neck, shoulders to trunk, legs down. You are one unified body, run mainly by the brain and the heart, and every organ system contributes. I've shown my patients charts of how lack of sleep affects every system in the body. If you've been brushing off poor sleep as "just being tired," it's worth taking seriously.

Call (314) 478-8877 to schedule a consultation.

Address

12266 De Paul Drive #325
Bridgeton, MO
63044

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+13142919000

Website

http://Drgotsis.com/

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