Sleep Apnea
in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska and surrounding communities
Sleep apnea is a condition where a person stops breathing frequently during sleep and briefly wakes up to gasp for air. The airway is blocked by soft tissue at the back of the throat, or by the tongue falling back against it and compressing it.
If you have five or more "apneic events" per hour, you have clinically significant sleep apnea and should obtain treatment. There are three types of sleep apnea:
- Central sleep apnea ? where for a short while no attempt is made to breathe. This type occurs in only four percent of cases.
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) ? where air cannot be obtained despite efforts to breathe. This is by far the most frequent type, occurring in about 84 percent of cases.
- Complex sleep apnea ? a mix of the first two types, occurring in about 12 percent of cases.
Regardless of which type of sleep apnea you may have, you would not typically be aware of having it. You could suffer from sleep apnea for many years and not recognize its symptoms as being connected to any problem of breathing while asleep. Most often a person?s sleep apnea is first noticed by someone else ? a sleeping partner or someone who sees the effects on the person?s body during the day.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Symptoms
Chronic snoring is the most common symptom. If you know you are a snorer, it would be wise to get checked for sleep apnea because your general health can be adversely affected if no treatment is done. However, snoring does not prove the presence of sleep apnea. Other OSA signs and symptoms are:
- Daytime fatigue
- Slow reflexes
- Poor job performance
- Poor memory
- A tendency to get into car accidents
When you cease breathing often during sleep, the brain is not receiving enough oxygen. This is what wakes you up enough to resume breathing. A brain with insufficient oxygen deteriorates in its functioning; hence the sleep apnea symptoms.
Apnea Risk Evaluation System (ARES™)
At Advanced Aesthetics & Restorative Dentistry, we offer sleep apnea diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Dodson has invested in an Apnea Risk Evaluation System (ARES™), which is a monitoring device you can use at home. It provides Dr. Dodson with data to help in your exact diagnosis. It is FDA-approved and also used in Europe and Canada.
How the ARES™ Unicorder Works
You would wear this small device on a band around your head while you sleep. It has no wires or cords trailing and is not connected to anything. It collects and stores as much as four night?s worth of sleep data:
- Your pulse rate
- Blood oxygen saturation
- Airflow as measured by a nasal cannula in each nostril
- Respiratory effort as measured by body movement and by venous blood pressure and volume
- Your snoring sounds
- Head movement and positions
When you return the unicorder after wearing it for up to four nights, Dr. Dodson can download its information and use the ARES™ software to analyze it. He will be able to hear your snoring, see how often you woke up, how much you tossed and turned, and how much your airway was blocked during those nights. All this information can be summarized in a short two-page report.
The ARES™ system also includes a questionnaire that we would ask you to complete. It has questions about health conditions, daytime symptoms, snoring, and other issues related to sleep apnea. Your answers to these questions would be part of Dr. Dodson?s total analysis and diagnosis of your condition.
Obstructive Sleep apnea is not one of the common dental problems, but it is a health-threatening condition that a qualified dentist like Dr. Dodson can diagnose and treat.
If you would like to know more about sleep apnea, please call or email our dentistry office today for personal consultation. We serve the areas of Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska and we look forward to meeting with you.
