A restful, good night sleep is crucial to your health. Chronic snoring problems and interrupted sleep aren’t just an inconvenience but it can be a sign of more serious problems that will negatively affect your health.

Did you know that untreated sleep apnea can take 10-15 years off your life?

It is not confined just to adults. Children can have sleep issues that are sometimes misdiagnosed as ADHD. Early diagnosis is crucial.

Because of our commitment to help our patients with their overall general health, we have received extensive training in screening, testing, and then treating this condition. Getting treatment is crucial, but the most common treatment, a CPAP, has a poor track record of compliance. In many cases, we can make a customized, state of the art dental device that is more comfortable than CPAP’s and very effective in treating this condition.

A healthy night sleep is a good night sleep!

Sleep Apnea

Common Symptoms

Frequent, loud snoring

Excessive daytime sleepiness

Chronic exhaustion even after a full night’s sleep

Gasping, choking or snorting during sleep

Morning headaches

High blood pressure

Poor memory, moodiness or difficulty concentrating

Waking up with a dry mouth or sore throat

Step 1: Screening

Are you at risk based on the above symptoms? If so, you should get a thorough evaluation to see if you may have this serious health problem. Our screening begins with a Sleep Assessment Test and a clinical examination and consultation with our doctors. Once this is done, we can determine the next steps based on the information collected. This will probably include consultation with your medical doctor or a sleep physician.

 

In the Fall of 2017 the American Dental Association began recommending that dentists screen for Sleep Apnea. We began this process in our office in 2016 as we recognized the impact that the sleep breathing problems can have on the health of our patients.

Step 2: Testing

A sleep test is the next step to determine if you have sleep apnea or other sleep conditions. There are two ways to accomplish this:

 

1: Sleep Center Test
2: Home Sleep Test

 

These are usually done in conjunction with a sleep physician and we work in tandem with them to determine the best course of action based on the test results. The test will provide some key information:

 

1: AHI Index
2: Oxygen saturation
3: Snoring evaluation
4: Position while sleeping
5: Sleep staging. Including the time spent in REM sleep

Step 3: Treatment

Based on the test results, a determination is made in conjunction with you as to the best course of treatment.

 

Which one would you choose if you had a choice?

While CPAP are very effective, the compliance is poor with over 50% of patients not using them after 12 months. The oral appliance gently helps open the airways and prevents it from collapsing while you sleep reducing the snoring and the severity of the sleep apnea.