Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea treatment in Egg Harbor Township
Sleep Related Breathing Disorders and Sleep Apnea:
Apnea is a sleep disorder in which a person pauses breathing, or has abnormal decreases in breathing while asleep. These pauses can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes. These episodes can happen a few times per hour. It can be much higher in frequency and can even be over 100 events per hour. Snoring is a medical condition which is caused by the abnormal vibration of something blocking or restricting airflow in your airway. It is often confused with choking and it is considered precursor or sign of Sleep Apnea.
These events arouse the brain out of REM sleep and prevent the body from fully resting sometime even exhausted resulting in poor memory and lack of concentration. Often times sleep apnea is misdiagnosed as ADD or ADHA.
Each time an event occurs the brain is essentially suffocating of oxygen. This causes an increase in heart rate and blood pressure because the body is fighting for air. This commonly leads to high blood pressure in people that can be difficult to control even with medications. This significantly increases a person’s chance of having a stroke, heart disease, poor memory loss, reflux, brain damage and even death.
There are also things called Hypopnea’s which are a drop in oxygen, but are not as severe or as long as an apnic. They can still cause many of the same problems.
Having Trouble Sleeping?
Dental symptoms are very commons. You dentists will notice a scalloped tongue, dry mouth, teeth grinding, tooth erosion and TMJ problems. The reason this happens is because in this state of panic people grind their teeth and move their stomachs in unnatural ways in an effort to breath resulting gastric reflux.
One of the most dangerous side effect is the effect on the brain and body organs. The brain is deprived of oxygen which results in memory problems and even brain damage which has been linked to Altzeimers disease. Day time sleepiness and confusion are another major symptom and have been linked to automobile accidents.
It is commonly thought that being overweight is the cause of sleep apnea. While being overweight does make things worst it is not the sole cause of apnea. The more important factor is the size of the airway and airway muscle tone. People with low muscle tone and soft tissue around the airway are at risk, especially if obese.
What is Sleep Apnea?
The Eccovision Phayrygometer
The Eccovision® Acoustic Pharyngometer allows users to quickly and easily measure a patients pharyngeal airway size and stability from the Oral Pharyngeal Junction to the Glottis.
The Pharyngometer graphically displays the relationship between the cross-sectional area of the airway and distance down the airway in centimeters.
Studies have shown a clear relationship between the existence of OSA and a narrow, collapsible, airway. The Pharyngometer accomplishes these measurements using acoustic reflection technology, similar to a ships sonar.
Sound waves are projected down the airway and reflected back out in such a way that the Pharyngometer software can analyze and quantify changes in the airways cross-sectional area. The test is minimally invasive and takes 2-5 minutes to complete.
Sleep Disorders Dentists use the Pharyngometer to screen patients prior to diagnosis. A narrow airway reading on the Pharyngometer correlates to higher Apnea Hypopnea Indices once the person is diagnosed. After diagnosis the pharyngometer helps to show us how the airway changes in repsonse to mandibular advancement. It has been concluded that the pharyngometer was accurate in ruling out patients who would not benefit from oral appliances 95% of the time.
Data from Pharyngometer & Rhinometer tests is displayed on an easy-to-read graph.
Screen Yourself: Take The Stop Bang Test
Dental Signs:
Pulse Oximeter
During the day your pulse ox should be in the range of 96-98. Your sleep study will reveal how low your oxygen saturation drops. If your pulse ox drops by more that 4% or even into the mid 90’s you should be concerned and seek treatment immediately.
Dental Sleep Appliance Therapy:
At Serenity Smile Designs we have the latest techniques and training to be able to fabricate an oral appliance call a mandibular advancement device. It works buy positioning the chin slightly forward preventing the tongue from falling back clogging the airway the same way CPR moves the tongue forward.
Mouth Breathing and Childhood Development:
TMJ and Sleep Apnea:
Mallampati Score:
Tongue Size:
Your dental CBCT will show the size of your tongue and your airway size. A enlarged tongue is significant risk factor of an airway disorder.
Sleep Apnea Definitions Chart
