Do You Have Sleep Apnea? Call Dr. Jay Nelson Of Nelson Dentistry!

Jay Nelson, DMD (center), and his amazing staff at Nelson Dentistry on S.R. 54 in Lutz.

There are a lot of good dentists out there, but few combine the ability to maintain your oral health and improve your ability to sleep without snoring like Dr. Jay Nelson, D.M.D (Doctor of Dental Medicine) and his Nelson Dentistry & Dental Sleep Medicine.

Dr. Nelson’s practice, located in the Highland Oaks Medical Center off S.R. 54 (west of Livingston Rd.) provides an extensive list of services that has grown over his 35-year career, as dental research and technology have created more patient options and his expertise to deliver them has grown.
Building on what he learned while earning his D.M.D. (Doctor of Medical Dentistry) degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in Philadelphia, Dr. Nelson earned advanced certifications from professional organizations such as the Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD), Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics (ACE) and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM). Dr. Nelson says his practice is the only AADSM-accredited facility in Florida.
Nelson Dentistry is a full-service dental practice, offering procedures that can help you have attractive, healthy teeth that are capable of chewing and grinding food. General dental services include teeth cleanings, fillings, root canals, periodontal therapy, dentures, veneers, whitening and even full-mouth reconstruction.
Dental Sleep Medicine
Dr. Nelson says that just because someone spends eight hours a night in sleep mode, it doesn’t guarantee their body is getting the rest it needs to be recharged for the waking hours to follow. Dental sleep medicine is a practice area that addresses some of the health issues affecting sleep quality, such as obstructive sleep apnea (a condition whereby sleep-time breathing is interrupted, depriving the body of a steady flow of oxygen), and it’s one way Dr. Nelson says he can deliver a higher level of patient benefit.
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, the official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, “moderate-to-severe sleep apnea is independently associated with a large increased risk of all-cause mortality, incident stroke, and cancer incidence and mortality.”
“In general dentistry, we’re saving teeth and helping people get healthier,” Dr. Nelson says. “With dental sleep medicine, we’re saving lives.”
Dental sleep medicine uses FDA-approved oral appliance technology and dental expertise to relieve sleep-disturbing problems like snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. Dr. Nelson says the severity is wide-ranging in terms of how often a sleeper’s breathing pauses.
“People with sleep apnea stop breathing in their sleep from five to one hundred times an hour,” he says.
Which would you rather wear to help with your snoring — the traditional CPAP or the oral appliance pictured above?

According to Dr. Nelson, obstructive sleep apnea can contribute to developing high blood pressure and heart disease and can increase your risk of having a stroke. He also says that besides the risk of chronic disease, people who don’t get enough quality sleep are less alert and increase their risk of injury from car or work-related accidents.

Snoring is sometimes a symptom of or a precursor to obstructive sleep apnea and can disturb the sleep of others. Dr. Nelson says dental sleep medicine offers a way to help bring relief not only to the person snoring, but also those who are sleeping within hearing distance of the noise.
“Someone snoring doesn’t just affect them, it affects their bed partner,” Dr. Nelson says. “We’re saving marriages, allowing couples to sleep in the same bed.”
Obstructive sleep apnea is a medical condition that requires a physician’s diagnosis. Patients become candidates for treatment by American Board of Sleep Medicine-certified Sleep Medicine specialists after undergoing an evaluation at a sleep testing center. “There are two ways a patient might enter our (dental sleep medicine) practice,” says Dr. Nelson. “One is referral by a physician, or we sometimes have patients (with other issues) and refer them for a sleep study, where a sleep medicine physician would evaluate them.”
The standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea has been to pump a continuous stream of air into a patient’s nose or mouth while sleeping. This method — using a Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) system — is effective but many people find the CPAPs ugly and uncomfortable to use, Dr. Nelson says, resulting a high failure rate usually due to patient non-compliance.
Instead of the unwieldy, scary-looking CPAP machine, today’s dental sleep medicine uses an FDA approved oral appliance that is adjusted to position the tongue and jaw to allow greater airflow to the lungs while sleeping. Treatment effectiveness is evaluated and adjustments are made, if necessary.
“Many people find the oral appliances more comfortable than the CPAP,” Dr. Nelson says. “People with mild to moderate sleep apnea often prefer an oral appliance to using a CPAP.”
Dental sleep medicine professionals have only been using oral appliances to treat obstructive sleep apnea for about 10 years and Dr. Nelson has been doing so for seven years. It is another dimension to his practice, which has served the New Tampa and Wesley Chapel communities from his Lutz office since 1987.
“It’s just something different, to help people in a different way than I usually do,” says Dr. Nelson, who is a New Tampa resident.
Whether he is easing the pain and discomfort of a patient with a dental cavity, or helping someone get more restful sleep, Dr. Nelson abides by the same guiding principle: “We treat everyone as an individual, with respect, and do the best we can.”
Some Glowing Reviews
A survey of online Google reviews suggests Dr. Nelson’s dental practice has a lot of satisfied patients, with 38 reviews unanimously giving the office 5 out of 5 stars.
“Dr. Nelson and his staff are great,” wrote patient Traci Jurek. “I have been going there for over 10 years and really appreciate the professional and personal way they treat you.”
Joyce Miguel echoes those sentiments: “Dr Nelson and his entire team know how to create a positive experience for their patients,” Miguel writes. “ Their caring and compassion are evident in all they do.”
And, sleep apnea treatment reviewer Rosemarie Rohatgi writes, “Dr. Jay Nelson is a genius at helping people solve their sleep problems. Not only that, he is absolutely tenacious in making sure you get what you need. I highly recommend him.”
Nelson Dentistry also received 5 out of 5 stars from 148 reviewers at HealthGrades.com, which scores medical practitioners on items ranging from level of trust to waiting times.
Dr. Jay Nelson’s Nelson Dentistry & Dental Sleep Medicine is located at 1928 Highland Oaks Blvd. in Lutz. For additional information, visit DrJayNelson.com or SleepBetterFlorida.com, or call 333-9265.

The Legacy At Highwoods Preserve Provides Quality Care For Your Loved Ones

The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve has been open since the summer of 2015, offering top-quality assisted living and memory care in New Tampa, less than two miles off Bruce B. Downs Blvd. on Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.

It is now both owned and managed by PinPoint Commercial, based in Houston. PinPoint was the community’s original developer, and recently established its own company to manage The Legacy and its other properties, called LifeWell Senior Living.

The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve offers spacious rooms, an extensive array of facilities and amenities, expansive views over a nature preserve outside and even a putting green at the center of one of the facility’s courtyards.

With 82 private suites and a license to house up to 88 residents, The Legacy offers five floor plans, from 330-sq.-ft. studios to 525-sq.-ft. deluxe suites. There are 60 suites for assisted living, as well 22 suites in the secured memory care wing of the building.

As part of The Legacy’s all-inclusive package, residents are served three meals a day at the Palm Pavilion, with menus and fine linens. They also can grab a snack from the Key Lime Bistro any time of the day or night. There’s even a sports bar, a private dining room that can be reserved for visiting family, a full-service salon, game room, theater, library, grand piano and fitness center.

Residents’ medical needs are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), with oversight from Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs).

And, it’s not just the building itself that community relations directors Lilly Gonzalez and Taylor Penvose want you to know about The Legacy, however. They really want to share how The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve helps seniors live a, “connected, active, safe, and purposeful life,” which is the philosophy of LifeWell Senior Living.

“We’re not a nursing home or a cold facility,” says Lilly. “We’re truly a community.”

For example, the residents have frequent outings to locations such as the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa. “They have weekly lunches at Ruby Tuesday or Burger 21, or even Bahama Breeze on the (Courtney Campbell) Causeway,” says Lilly. “Recently, they went to visit Tarpon Springs and the residents couldn’t wait to go put their feet in the sand.”

She says another favorite activity among residents is dominoes with The Legacy’s executive director, Janis Stovall. “Our residents love dominoes with Janis,” says Lilly. She adds that Janis is one of the reasons The Legacy is unlike any other assisted living facility.

“She’s truly a resident advocate who is always looking to connect one-on-one with our residents,” Lilly says.

Making Residents Feel At Home

Lilly and Taylor also explain that the building has been designed to encourage interaction among the residents. “Each suite is private, but the whole building is home,” explains Lilly. “Our common areas are very purpose-driven, because we don’t want residents isolated in their rooms.”

The staff is intentional about extending its community to the residents’ families, too. There’s an air hockey table that kids enjoy, for example, or families can bring a movie to watch together in the theater room.

Marsha Wolf, a Cory Lake Isles resident whose husband Harvey moved into a memory care residence at The Legacy this summer, says the community feels like a family to her. “Everyone here does everything,” says Marsha. “If someone needs help, they all work together. Janis is just the best and goes out of her way to do things to accommodate the residents. I’m thankful I found a place that I feel like he’s safe and I don’t have to worry.”

Hunter’s Green resident Constance Salters moved her great aunt, Ruby Smith, into The Legacy last March. She agrees with Marsha that her aunt has been well cared for at The Legacy.

Constance says Ruby had been at another care facility, where she had a fall, and ended up in the hospital, then rehab. That’s when Constance decided to move her closer to home.

“When she came in, she was using a feeding tube and wheelchair,” explains Constance. “Now she’s up, and thinks she runs the place.”

Constance says The Legacy has given her peace of mind.

“I don’t have to worry about her,” she says. “The staff communicates with me very well, gives me lots of updates, and there are tons of activities so she’s always entertained. They even text me pictures of her dancing, so I feel included in what she’s doing.”

Constance says The Legacy feels like one big family. “She’s home, and I feel totally comfortable that I don’t have to do surprise visits or monitor her. Everyone treats the residents like their own family. I definitely recommend it.”

Using Technology

The Legacy incorporates the latest technological advances to offer its residents the best in health and safety, such as QuietCare technology. “QuietCare allows us to be proactive, instead of reactive,” says Taylor. The technology uses motion and heat sensors, combined with software analytics, to learn the behaviors and patterns of residents. If something is out of character — such as a resident getting up more often at night, or maybe staying in the bathroom an unusually long time — the system alerts the care staff so they can check on them.

Every resident wears a radio-frequency ID wristband that provides access to their private suite. The wristbands also are used in the fitness center, where residents can use state-of-the-art equipment, designed especially for seniors, to alert the machines to the user’s preferences and goals. With no weights or chains to struggle with, this equipment minimizes falls and injuries, and the wristband technology tracks the workout.

“If a doctor is concerned that a patient needs to exercise more, we can actually give the resident a printout of all of their workouts to show the doctor,” Taylor says.

Residents also wear a pendant that can alert caregivers on staff instantly, plus there are pull cords in every bedroom and bathroom. “Our staff is held accountable for how quickly they respond when they receive an alert,” says Lilly.

Anyone entering the building, whether they are family members, third party providers or doctors, is checked out by Accushield, a digital sign-in kiosk that verifies providers’ credentials, time spent in the building, and even criminal and health backgrounds.

Respite Care, Too

For people who are providing care to loved ones at home and may need a break, The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve also offers respite care.

“If you’re taking care of a loved one and need time to go to a wedding or graduation or family vacation, we have one residence available in both assisted living and memory care for this purpose,” Lilly says. There is a minimum stay of seven days, where the person you care for will have access to all of the community’s amenities and activities. “It’s like your loved one gets a vacation, as well,” Lilly adds. “If you think, ‘I want to go away, but I can’t,’ we’ll help you make that happen.”

The Legacy at Highwoods Preserve is located at 18600 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. For info, call 375-9858, see the ad on pg. 38 or visit LegacyatHighwoodsPreserve.com. Walk-ins are welcome seven days a week, from 9 a.m.–5 p.m., but appointments are preferred for tours.

Nearly 500 New Tampa Students To Lose ‘Courtesy Busing’ Next School Year

Starting next school year, Alex Evison, center, and the other kids in his Cross Creek neighborhood will no longer have a bus to ride to school. His mom, Lisa, says most of these kids’ parents can’t drive their kids to school because the hours fall within the work day and the walk isn’t safe.

In December, the Hillsborough County School Board voted to end what they call “courtesy busing” for middle and high school students who live within two miles of their respective schools.

In New Tampa, this will affect nearly 500 students, mostly at Louis Benito Middle School and Paul R. Wharton High School, where more than 400 students will no longer have bus transportation provided (see chart). At other New Tampa schools combined, including Freedom High, Liberty Middle, and Tuner/Bartels K-8, another 50 students are affected.

According to records made available by the School Board, Benito currently provides bus transportation to 629 of the 1,058 students who attend school there. Of those students, 265 will not have bus transportation starting with the 2017-18 school year, because they live within two miles of the school.

“Courtesy busing was not supposed to be a permanent thing,” explains school district spokesperson Tanya Arja. “It was designed for temporary uses, such as road hazards during construction, and there should have been a process to remove it when those factors were gone.”

She explains that the majority of students throughout Hillsborough County are responsible for their own transportation to and from school, saying that of 214,000 students countywide, only 90,000 are bused.

Arja also says the decision was made in December to give parents plenty of time to plan for next school year, such as by arranging carpools or their work schedules.

For some local parents, the decision is upsetting. Lisa Evison, who lives in Cross Creek, is trying to rally parents to object to the decision, as other communities — such as Lutz and FishHawk Ranch in south Hillsborough County — have done.

Evison says with the never ending traffic, potential child predators and other dangers, she doesn’t feel that it’s safe for her seventh grade son, Alex, to walk to Benito from her neighborhood in Cross Creek, nearly two miles away. “The Tampa Bay area as a whole has a horrendous — and deserved — reputation for pedestrian fatalities,” she says. “How many kids have to die walking to school before we say it’s enough?”

Statistics compiled by the Tampa Bay Times show that in 2016, there were 39 pedestrian fatalities in Hillsborough County, and another 12 bicycle fatalities. This is down from a record year in 2015, where there were a combined 59 fatalities.

In 2012, Evison says she was riding a bike in front of Benito and a car made a right turn on red and hit her.

“I’m an adult, I have a light on my bike, and he drove over me and didn’t see me. People are distracted, in a rush, and not paying attention. I see it all the time! I don’t know why I would expose my children to that — never mind the long walk with his 22-pound backpack.”

The principals at both Benito and Wharton say it remains to be seen exactly what the impact on schools will be.

“We already have families who have busing available to them who don’t take advantage of it because they would rather drop their kid off at 7:00 than have them catch the bus at 6:30,” says Wharton principal Brad Woods. He says he’s in close contact with the county transportation department to closely monitor the construction on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., as the road is being expanded from four to six lanes.

“If Bruce B. Downs meets the state statutes for hazardous road conditions, they would have to put the transportation back,” he says.

Meanwhile, Benito principal John Sanders says the school is preparing for an increase in the number of students walking and biking to school.

“My primary concern is the intersection of Kinnan St. and Cross Creek Blvd.,” says Sanders. “We’ll do everything we can to make that intersection safer for our families. We’ve requested a crossing guard, we will ask our school resource officer to be at that intersection and we will educate our kids to cross the road safely.”

Affected students recently received a letter from the school board explaining the cuts and providing a “Parent/Guardian Hazardous Walking Concern Review Request” for any parent who feels that the walking path for their child is unsafe.

Arja says community meetings will be planned to help connect parents to resources for carpooling and safe walking and biking, including HART, TBARTA, Safe Routes to School, and St. Joseph’s Hospital. Woods says one such meeting is expected to be held at Wharton, but no date had been set at our press time.

Evison also has a child at Hunter’s Green Elementary and is concerned about the future, as the School Board is expected to cut courtesy busing to elementary schools for the following school year, 2018-19.

Evison says parents who want to ask the Board to reconsider their decision should join a Facebook group started by FishHawk-area parents called “Safe Bus For Us.” Evison was part of a group of parents who attended the last school board meeting to express their concerns about ending the program.

Additional information from Hillsborough County Public Schools can be found online at SDHC.k12.fl.us/doc/1787/courtesybusinformation.

The FHCI Iceman Cometh

For those of us who have previously toured the new Florida Hospital Center Ice (FCHI) off S.R. 56 in Wesley Chapel, there were only two things missing — people skating and the ice itself.

Well, as of Jan. 19, the largest ice skating and hockey facility south of New York state began the process of creating the ice, so that it can be painted, finished and open for skaters.

The facility and the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) hosted a ceremonial puck drop on Jan. 25. We’ll have extensive coverage in our next edition, which hits mailboxes Feb. 10.

Learn to Skate will hold its first lessons in Saturday morning.

And there are open skate sessions all weekend, starting today from noon-2 p.m. and tonight from 8-10 p.m., Saturday (noon-2 p.m., 4:30-6:30 p.m., 8-10 p.m.) and Sunday (1-3 p.m., 6-8 p.m.).

Macy’s Store In The Shops At Wiregrass Mall Will Remain Open

Macy’s has announced that it will be closing 68 store sin 2017, but the good news is, one of them won’t be ours.

The department store chain, which announced in August that it would be closing 100 of its 700 stores by next year, announced 68 of its store closings and the Macy’s location at the Shops at Wiregrass mall was not on the list.

That’s good news, says Shops at Wiregrass general manager Greg Lenners.

“Having a Macy’s, it basically rounds out the selection of stores that we have and it’s a great anchor to have,’’ Lenners says.

When Macy’s announced its potential closings last year, Morningstar Credit Ratings identified 28 locations that had sales below the company’s national average for 2014, the most recent year information was available, putting them at higher risk.

The Wiregrass Macy’s was No. 8 on that list, reporting $118 in sales per sq. ft. The average for Macy’s overall in 2014 was $169 per sq. ft.

The other Florida store on the Morningstar Credit Ratings list was the Lakeland Square Mall location. That location did not survive and will close this spring.

Lenners says that despite the report, he never thought the location at his mall would be axed.

“We always anticipated it wouldn’t close,’’ he says. “We are in one of the fastest-growing communities in the state. It didn’t make sense why they would close it.”

Of the 68 stores Macy’s will close, three have already been shuttered, with another 63 closings expected by the spring. The remaining two are set to close later this summer.

Lenners says he is pleased Macy’s, whose storefront faces the center – and, probably, busiest — section of the mall, is staying open. He says the store’s selection, as well as the selection at the other anchors, JC Penney and Dillard’s, fits the local shopping demographic perfectly.

Big-name anchors are generally considered vital to a mall’s success, and the loss of one can sometimes be a hint of a downward spiral.

Lenners, however, points to some recent and planned openings that show the mall is still growing and going strong.

A few months ago, PhoLicious, a Vietnamese noodle soup café, opened, and on Jan. 8, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt debuted.

By the time this issue arrives in your mailbox, the Chinese stir-fry kitchen Wok Chi, located near the Barnes & Noble, should be open as well.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Irish 31 is still expected to open this spring, and an Avalon Spa is under construction next to Dillard’s. Lenners says the mall also recently completed a lease agreement with Noble Crust, a trendy and popular St. Petersburg restaurant that offers “Seasonal Italian with Southern Soul.”

Lenners also said the so-called “connector site” to the east of the existing Shops at Wiregrass, which will include luxury apartments, a movie theater and a green grocer, is still making it’s way through the environmental permitting process, but hopes to break ground sometime in the fall.

“There’s going to be lots of activity,’’ Lenners says.