Sleep apnea is more than just inconvenient snoring that disturbs your spouse. When left untreated, it can significantly reduce your quality of life (not to mention your sleep quality) and seriously affect your whole-body health. Unfortunately, when left untreated, it can also shorten your overall life expectancy. CPAP treatment is not your only option - custom dental sleep devices can be life-saving. Our tailored treatments can help you breathe with ease so you can sleep restfully and get your overall health back on track.
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Why should I choose Sleep Apnea Treatment?
Sleep apnea is a condition of sleep-disordered breathing in which your breathing repeatedly stops and restarts many times while you sleep. Many people wake themselves up as they gasp for air, as the body and all your vital organs become deprived from oxygen during the breathing cessations. Not all people who snore have apnea, but if your snoring is accompanied by additional symptoms, such as witnessed breathing pauses while asleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, gasping or choking sounds while asleep, high blood pressure, excessive tooth grinding, acid reflux, etc, it might be an indication to see a doctor or a qualified dentist trained in sleep medicine.
Sleep apnea can be classified as either obstructive apnea or central apnea, as the root causes are very different. Proper testing and evaluation is critical in getting you an accurate diagnosis, as it directly impacts the success of your potential treatment. Suspicion of possible sleep apnea by you, your bed partner, or your doctor or dentist should be addressed right away, due to the potential implications when left untreated. Sleep apnea, in the short term, can cause drowsiness and poor quality sleep, whereas in the long run, it can raise your risk of life-threatening conditions like heart attacks or strokes, force all of your vital organs to work a lot harder, and have a direct impact on your life expectancy. When you have untreated apnea, your body is not truly fully "resting" when you are asleep, leading to excessive daytime fatigue, which can be dangerous. Studies have shown a higher risk of life-threatening accidents due to people driving while severely tired.
Getting proper treatment means you will be able to breathe properly, sleep more soundly, and take control of your overall health.
Did you know…
It’s estimated that at least 1 in 12 Americans suffer from sleep apnea.
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In-Depth Consultations
Our comprehensive consultations provide a deep dive into your specific sleep concerns, any family history of sleep disordered breathing, as well as a physical examination to assess your airway and any possible visible obstructions. Not all dentists are trained in the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disordered breathing. Dr. Ahmed has extensive training and experience in the management of the spectrum of sleep-disordered breathing disorders, and uses a personalized approach to understand and address your sleep apnea, ensuring a treatment plan that's right for you.
Comfortable, At-Home Sleep Testing device
Not all sleep studies are created equal! Discover the convenience and comfort of evaluating your sleep quality from your own home with our At-Home Sleep Testing Device. This easy-to-use device offers highly accurate results as well as utilizing the global standard AHI scale, paving the way for effective treatment solutions. For many patients, overnight sleep testing in a sleep lab is uncomfortable, difficult to settle into for an accurate snapshot of your daily sleep habits, and just an overall awkward and challenging experience. At-home testing allows you to be in the comfort of your own home, in your own bedsheets, with the temperature and sleep setting that you prefer, for the most accurate diagnosis. It is important to note that some medical insurances still require overnight lab testing for full coverage of your future sleep appliance, so it is important that you check with your particular provider on what is required for coverage.
Custom Mandibular Advancement Device (M.A.D.) for sleep apnea
For patients who want to treat their snoring or sleep apnea but do not want or cannot tolerate a CPAP machine, an oral appliance may be right for you. These appliances are highly customized and titrated to suit your particular needs as well as work within the limitations of your jaw movements. You are just a phone call away from experiencing restful, uninterrupted sleep with our custom mandibular advancement devices, specifically designed to alleviate sleep apnea and/or disruptive snoring symptoms. These dental sleep devices are tailored to fit you perfectly, ensuring better and healthier sleep. When sleep apnea is treated successfully, many people have a reduction in other accompanying medical conditions, and are pleasantly surprised by how much better they feel on a day-to-day basis. There is no reason to suffer with this condition! A custom made dental sleep device can help you tremendously.
The Benefits of Sleep Apnea Treatment
Get Proper Sleep
Without appropriate treatment, low-quality sleep can cause issues such as irritability, problems focusing, or drowsiness when driving, not to mention an increase in nighttime bruxism (tooth grinding) and other medical conditions, including high blood pressure. With proper sleep apnea treatment, you’ll be able to get restorative, peaceful sleep again, ensuring you feel well-rested and best able to approach the day ahead!
Improve Your Health
Sleep apnea treatment helps reduce your risk and progression of certain health conditions, such as headaches, diabetes, heart attack and stroke, and many more. You’ll be able to breathe properly and without interruptions at night, which is important for your overall health and wellness.
Feel More Energetic
Proper sleep apnea treatment helps you feel more energetic and get through the day more easily. It will be easier to do things like exercise and lose weight, and stay focused on your goals. Proper treatment may even help restore your libido and improve intimacy, since sleep apnea is often associated with low sex drive.
The Sleep Apnea Treatment Process
Sleep Test And Diagnosis
Well-trained dentists play of crucial role in evaluating patients for anatomic, structural, and lifestyle factors that put them at risk for sleep apnea, snoring, or other sleep-disordered breathing. Through collaborative efforts with the patient's medical care providers, a diagnosis can be made using either a home sleep test or an overnight sleep study in a sleep lab facility.
discussion of treatment options
Depending on your particular condition, your treatment recommendations may vary. Depending on whether you have central versus obstructive apnea, whether it is classified as mild, moderate, or severe, as well as if there is a positional component, these factors can all affect the best course of treatment for you. Treatment can range from CPAP therapy, to oral appliance therapy, to surgery, to positional and postural changes all to help aid in the disordered breathing. Your qualified dentist in collaboration with your sleep specialist will help make the appropriate recommendations.
Get Help From Your Dentist
If you have tried a CPAP device and were unable to tolerate it, or want to explore other options besides CPAP therapy for whatever reason, a qualified dentist trained in sleep medicine can help choose an appropriate mandibular advancement device (M.A.D.) that may be right for you. We will work closely with you and your sleep specialist to help you control and manage your apnea in the most comfortable way possible.
Before & Afters
A smile is worth 1,000 words.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Does a mandibular advancement device (M.A.D) Work?
A Mandibular Advancement Device, or MAD for short, is a highly sophisticated dental device that repositions your lower jaw while you sleep. This gentle repositioning prevents oral tissues from sagging into your airway, which can block your ability to get adequate oxygen. Repositioning the lower jaw into a more favorable position can be a life-saving measure that prevents your breathing from being interrupted while you sleep.
What Else Can I Do To Treat Sleep Apnea?
Your sleep specialist and your dentist may make some lifestyle recommendations to help with sleep apnea. For certain types of apnea, these may include losing weight, quitting smoking, exercising, avoiding drugs and alcohol (especially before bed), and sleeping on your side, rather than on your back or your stomach.
What Is A CPAP?
CPAP is short for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. This is a type of machine that pumps a steady, gentle stream of pressurized air into your airway through a full face mask, an oral mask, or a nasal mask or pillow, depending on your needs. This stream prevents your airway tissue from collapsing, which prevents sleep apnea.
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