Snoring and Sleep Apnea
Snoring can be a symptom of a serious medical condition that can be LifeThreatening.

 

Maybe you haven't seen a doctor yet for your annoying snoring problem,however, Dr. Hart feels that it is vitally important to determine whether or not your snoring is a symptom of the slow killer, Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

 

Snoring is the sound made when the tissues of the soft palate,tongue, and throat partially block the airway and vibrate against the back of the throat during sleep.  It is estimated that 45 million people snore every night affecting themselves and their bedpartner. Before you seek treatment for snoring it is very important that you have ruled out Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

 

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) affects more that 20 million Americans and can lead to hypertension, heart attack, stroke, depression, muscle pain, excessive daytime sleepiness and other destructive problems.  OSA is a condition where the tissues of the throat and tongue completely block the airway causing brief  periods of suffocation which can dangerously reduce the body's oxygen levels.  The brain alerts the muscles of the airway to open the blocked airway which disrupts the quality of our much needed sleep and we wake up tired and unrested.  The most common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea are:

If you do have symptoms of sleep apnea. Dr. Hart will ask that you see a Board Certified Sleep Specialist for a diagnosis prior to evaluating you for a sleep apnea oral apliance.  If you already have been diagnosed with mild or moderate sleep apnea,your first line therapy, according to the top experts in the field of sleep medicine, is a dental sleep apnea appliance.

 

If you suspect that you may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea and hesitate to pursue or complete treatment, take a look at some of the most common signs and symptoms of OSA.  The number beside each item indicates how often people diagnosed with OSA exhibit that particular's symptom.  For example,78% of people diagnosed with OSA also exhibit Excessive Daytime Sleepiness.

It is alarming when you consider the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in patients diagnosed with OSA.  The following list shows the correlation between cardiovascular diseases and OSA.

Another way to look at the dangerous effects of OSA is to consider how often other conditions also suffer from OSA.  For example,90% of people complaining of nighttime chest pain, Nocturnal Angina, were diagnosed with OSA as were 38% of heart attack victims!

Snoring Appliances & Sleep Apnea Appliances
How Do They Work?

 

Snoring and sleep apnea appliance therapy, termed Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) or Oral Sleep Appliance Therapy (OSA), work similarly in that they slightly advance the lower jaw and tongue which helps keep the airway open while we sleep.

 

A partially blocked airway causes snoring or in more serious cases, known as Obstructive Sleep Apnea, your airway gets completely blocked and you start choking and gasping for breath.  This fall asleep-choke-wake up-breathe-fall asleep-choke-wake up- breathe cycles all night long and disrupts restful sleep and you wake up tired and unrested.Make sense?  Oral appliances are small retainer type devices that,when properly fit and adjusted by the dentist with advanced training, are well tolerated by patients and are most effective for patients that snore or are diagnosed with mild or moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

 

Those diagnosed with certain cases of severe sleep apnea can also be successfully treated.  In fact, the American Sleep Disorders Association recommends dental appliance therapy for patients with severe OSA who are CPAP intolerant or refuse treatment with CPAP.

 

Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) is shown in the literature to be very well tolerated by patients and very effective.  Indications for use of OAT include the folowing:

CPAP Alternatives
If you have been given a CPAP to wear to bed and you are not wearing it or would like an alternative, WE CAN HELP!  If you are not wearing your CPAP to  bed,then you are not treating your serious and potentially letahl condition.  Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) can give you freedom from your CPAP and successfully treat your sleep apnea.  CPAP intolerant patients now have a new choice.

 

CPAP alert:  New guidelines recently published in SLEEP, the journal for medical sleep specialists, recommend that dental oral appliances be used as the first line treatment of choice for mild to moderate sleep apnea as an alternative to CPAP therapy for:

Dr. Hart is on Diplomate-Track for Snoring and Sleep Apnea through LVI Global.
She uses the latest techniques in non-CPAP oral appliance therapies for both snoring and sleep apnea.  Following appliance design and insertion, we will monitor your progress with the MEDIByte, made by Braebon , a take home sleep study.  This will allow Dr. Hart to monitor your progress while you sleep in your own bed!  We work very closely with your sleep specialist during your treatment and follow up.

 

One appliance option is the SomnoDent device.  This is a safe,effective,comfortable treatment for Obstructive Seep Apnea.  The SomnoDent device has a number of design features and benefits,which overcome many of the issues usually associated with oral appliances.  These include: