Snoring is not a situation that should be overlooked. It can have serious health consequences. No every person who snores has Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), however everybody with OSA snores.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a very dangerous condition affecting thousands of Americans. It is caused by the obstruction of the upper airway and is characterized by repetitive pauses of breathing during sleep (apnea), despite the effort to breathe.
This interruption of breathing can last several seconds (20 or more) each time and may occur several times per hour. This condition could have a serious effect over the health of an individual.
Based on multiple researches, health conditions correlated to OSA include but are not limited to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, anxiety, depression, memory loss, and erectile dysfunction.
Symptoms associated to OSA include but are not limited to snoring, daytime sleepiness, acid reflux, difficulty to focus, daytime tiredness among others.
The gold standard for treatment is the CPAP, however the compliance is very low. An oral appliance can be manufactured to allow better breathing during sleep, and it has proved to give great results in cases of mild to moderate OSA. Compliance is greater than CPAP and it is a great alternative for patients that cannot tolerate the CPAP machine.
We definitively can help you to treat this condition. We will work closely with your physician to try to achieve the best possible results.
A good screening tool to determine the need for further evaluation could be the Epworth Scale and STOP-BANG questionnaire. You will find these screening tools in the links bellow.
If you suspect you may have OSA or are not sure about it, please complete the screening tools located in the link below and bring them to our office. We would like to discuss with you if there is any need for further evaluation.