Sleep Apnea Treatment Powell

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person experiences brief but frequent lapses in breathing during sleep. Most often, this is caused by the airway becoming obstructed by the soft tissues in the mouth and throat, which is actually called obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). People with this condition can stop breathing up to 100 times every hour, greatly disrupting their sleep and preventing them from completing a normal sleep cycle.

The Dangers of Sleep Apnea

• Chronic exhaustion, which drastically lowers quality of life and makes a person far more likely to be in a motor vehicle accident.
• Loud snoring, which can disturb loved ones, depriving them of restorative sleep, and straining relationships.
• Depression, irritability, and mood swings.
• Weight gain, since sleep deprivation throws off the balance of the hormones that cause a person to feel hungry and know when they’re full.
• An increased risk of heart attack and stroke because hypertension is a common side effect of sleep apnea.
• Other risks associated with sleep apnea include heightened risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, blood clots, dementia/Alzheimer’s, and other chronic issues.
  

Excessive Snoring

Snoring is caused by loose, overly relaxed tissues in the upper airway vibrating as patients breathe during sleep. While snoring is not necessarily a sure sign of sleep apnea – only around half of excessive snorers are positively diagnosed with this health condition – it is considered a worrisome precursor to Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS) that may one day fully develop into OSA. That is why Dr. Shults may recommend oral appliance therapy for chronic snorers as well as OSA sufferers.

An Alternative to CPAP: Oral Appliance Therapy

The most commonly prescribed treatment for sleep apnea is CPAP therapy, in which a patient wears a mask to bed that is connected by a hose to an air pump. This helps a patient breathe throughout the night by using a steady stream of oxygen to force the throat open. As you can imagine, many patients find this approach extremely uncomfortable, and the machine can be quite noisy as well, disturbing anyone sleeping near a patient.

One effective alternative is called oral appliance therapy. Dr. Shults can design a mouthpiece for a patient to wear to bed that gently shifts their lower jaw forward, preventing the airway from ever becoming fully cut off during the night. These devices are comfortable to wear and totally silent.

It is important that a qualified dental sleep expert is the provider of your oral appliance therapy, as they will conduct the proper testing through calibration studies. Without these important steps, your device may quiet snoring without treating sleep apnea. Qualified practitioners are educated in minimizing or treating side effects. They are additionally skilled in guiding combination therapy with multiple modalities when required and work closely with your medical team.

Snoring Appliances

While snoring is one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea, not everyone who snores has the condition, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying! Snoring can rob loved ones of much-needed sleep, leading to strained relationships and groggy mornings for all. Thankfully, Dr. Shults uses the Airway Metrics system that can determine the most effective position of your jaw before fabricating an appliance. That way, the sleep appliance is specifically designed to significantly decrease or stop snoring.

Partners with Ohio’s Top Sleep Physicians

Dr. Shults works closely with a network of Ohio’s top sleep physicians to provide the highest quality care for her patients. With them, she can help someone get the sleep testing and diagnosis they need to start resting better as soon as possible. Thanks to this partnership, the process of getting your sleep apnea under control will be seamless from beginning to end, and you’re guaranteed to get treatment that is just as comfortable as it is effective.