The Dentist’s Role in the Management of Sleep Apnea

Sleep Apnea is a condition where you stop breathing while you are sleeping.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a condition where the upper airway is blocked.
A person with sleep apnea stops breathing repeatedly while sleeping anywhere from 10 seconds to as long as 3 minutes.
There are approximately 40 million Americans that have Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
18% of Men and 8% of Women suffer from some form of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
One Third of your life is spent sleeping. When you don’t sleep well, it affects the other two thirds of your life.

If left untreated, Sleep Apnea can result in a number of problems including:

• High Blood Pressure
• Type II Diabetes
• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Depression
• Insomnia

Some Sobering Statistics:
• Severe OSA increases your risk of death by 46% (Johns Hopkins University Study)
• Increases your risk of having a heart attack 23x
• Can take 10-15 years off of your life

Signs and symptoms of OSA:
• Excessive tiredness or sleepiness
• Loud Snoring
• Frequent morning headaches
• Sudden disruption of sleep
• Dry Mouth or sore throat upon wakening
• Excessive tooth wear
• Neck Size of 17” or more for men, 16” for women
• GERD

Diagnosis:
A sleep study is performed to analyze how many times a night you stop breathing. You will be rated mild, moderate or severe.

Treatment:
• CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)
• MAD (Mandibular Advancement Device) Fabricated by your dentist
• Combination CPAP + MAD for sever cases

Listen to Dr. V

92.7am, 104.7fm first Friday of every month at 8:10AM
Contact Us

Contact

Dr. Gary Vander Vliet

Preventive, Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry

office@gvdental.com

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908-852-8858

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Hastings Commons, Building 2B;
486 Schooley’s Mountain Road;
Hackettstown, New Jersey 07840

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