The Greek word "apnea" literally means "without breath." There are three types of apnea: obstructive, central and mixed. Of the three, obstructive is the most common. Despite the difference in the root cause of each type, in all three, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or longer.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is caused by a blockage of the airway, usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. In central sleep apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe. Mixed apnea, as the name implies, is a combination of the two. With each apnea event, the brain briefly arouses people with sleep apnea in order for them to resume breathing, but consequently sleep is extremely fragmented and of poor quality.
Sleep apnea is very common, as common as adult diabetes, and affects more than 12 million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health. Risk factors include being male, overweight and over the age of 40, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Yet still, because of the lack of awareness by the public and healthcare professionals, the vast majority remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences.
Untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, impotency and headaches. Moreover, untreated sleep apnea may be responsible for job impairment and motor vehicle crashes. Fortunately, sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated. Several treatment options exist, and research into additional options continues.
For more information, please contact us or visit www.dentalsleepmed.org/SnoringandSA.aspx.
We strongly urge our patients who suspect they may suffer from any sleep disorder to be examined by a sleep specialist to determine the proper treatment. In many cases dental appliances can help with snoring or sleep apnea. We are able to provide a range of different dental appliances such as the TAP appliance for those patients who exhibit severe snoring or who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and have difficulty using C-PAP or Bi-PAP.