WHAT IS SLEEP APNEA?

WHAT IS SLEEP APNEA?

Sleep Apnea, also called Obstructive Sleep Apnea, is a serious medical condition. What happens is the soft tissues in the throat, or the tongue, will close off the airway causing lack of oxygen to the brain and to the heart. The most obvious symptoms probably are restless sleep, snoring, waking up feeling like you’re just gasping for air. It’s been known to cause heart attack, increased blood pressure, or fatigue during the day. Studies have shown that there’s an increase in automobile accidents, there’s also an increase in work accidents because people just can’t focus on their day-to-day activities.

We know that about 50% of patients that have a CPAP machine don’t wear them or don’t like them. And so the oral appliance is an alternative for the CPAP machine that is– it’s small, it’s convenient, it’s easy to take care of. Most people tend to adjust to those very easily and find them a great alternative. Put the appliance in, it has some elastics that move the lower jaw forward, opening that airway so that you can rest more easily at night. We see dramatic improvements immediately with these appliances. Patients will come back within a week and say, I can’t believe the difference this makes in my ability to function every day. So, again, it’s a very serious medical condition, but it’s something we certainly can treat here in our office.