We treat snoring and sleep apnea in our sleep clinic and help our patients to get a good, restful night’s sleep. This is such a common problem that around 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea. The most common form is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where the airways are blocked and very often snoring, is triggered by this condition as well. In this scenario, the jaw falls backwards during sleep, and as it does, the tongue falls backwards as well. The tongue then blocks the airways, making it impossible to get enough oxygen and a good night sleep. Snoring is often the body’s way of trying to move the tongue and get the oxygen that it needs. While annoying for your partner, snoring works like a natural defense mechanism. If you do snore a lot, rather than feeling frustrated – work together to solve the problem by making an appointment with our sleep clinic.
While 18 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, most of them never have it diagnosed. This is typically due to the fact that snoring is not viewed as a real health concern. Sleep apnea, on the other hand – is. There have been numerous studies pointing to the importance of getting enough sleep. For example, scientists have found that when the REM sleep of rats is interrupted on a regular basis, their lifespan decreases from two to three years to only five weeks. While we don’t have information like this on how a lack of sleep impacts the duration of human life, that should be enough to give most people pause.
Additional research has been done linking sleep apnea to heart disease with 70 percent of those treated for coronary artery disease also having sleep apnea. Further studies have demonstrated the external dangers as well such as a report showing that driving while drowsy can be deadlier than driving while intoxicated. With the massive amount of research available it is clear that if you have snoring and sleep apnea, you should not delay in seeking treatment.
For those that have obstructive sleep apnea, seeking treatment is fairly easy. We recommend that you schedule an appointment with our sleep clinic so that we can examine and test you in order to determine if you do have sleep apnea. If you do, we will make an impression of your mouth so that a removable oral appliance can be created. This appliance slips into the mouth like a full retainer would with the difference being that it is hooked together. It, therefore, will not allow the jaw and tongue to fall backwards, keeping them in place and the airways clear. Most of our patients experience a dramatic improvement right away as their energy levels increase.
Furthermore, those that need additional assistance can wear a removable oral appliance in combination with a CPAP machine. While larger and bulkier, when a CPAP machine is worn at night, it makes it easy to get the oxygen needed to feel fully rested the next day. As such, if you suffer from snoring and sleep apnea, we invite you to schedule an appointment right away.