Sleep apnea (AP-ne-ah) is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep.
Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They may occur 30 times or more an hour. Typically, normal breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound. Sleep apnea usually is a chronic (ongoing) condition that disrupts your sleep. When your breathing pauses or becomes shallow, you’ll often move out of deep sleep and into light sleep.
As a result, the quality of your sleep is poor, which makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is a leading cause of excessive daytime sleepiness.
Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Doctors usually can't detect the condition during routine office visits. Also, no blood test can help diagnose the condition.
Most people who have sleep apnea don't know they have it because it only occurs during sleep. A family member or bed partner might be the first to notice signs of sleep apnea.
The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. In this condition, the airway collapses or becomes blocked during sleep. This causes shallow breathing or breathing pauses.
When you try to breathe, any air that squeezes past the blockage can cause loud snoring. Obstructive sleep apnea is more common in people who are overweight, but it can affect anyone. For example, small children who have enlarged tonsil tissues in their throats may have obstructive sleep apnea.
We will be happy to work with your physician to tailor the right kind of therapy for you.
After the sleep study is completed, and if you are diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, we take impressions of your teeth and make a special bite registration mold in order to construct a custom made appliance just for you. The appliances are made by sleep dental laboratories specializing in dental sleep therapy. They are FDA approved, safe and comfortable.
After the oral appliance is inserted, you are encouraged to return for adjustments to insure your appliance is comfortable and affective. Many patients are concerned about the affect of the appliance on the TMJ (Temporal Mandibular Joint) and the surrounding Cranio-facial structures. Our appliances are very kind to the TMJ system and our patients have not experienced any long-term consequences from using the appliance.