Sleep Apnea and Snoring Treatment in Honolulu, HI – Sleep Disorder Therapy
Have you woken up in the morning and still felt completely exhausted? You may have undiagnosed sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening sleep disorder characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep. The term sleep apnea is derived from the Greek etymology meaning “without breath”. Breathing pauses can last anywhere from several seconds to minutes, and happen as often as 30 times or more per hour. Ongoing disrupted breathing causes an imbalance between the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the bloodstream, as not enough carbon dioxide is exiting and not enough oxygen is entering the body.
Sensing this imbalance, the brain sends a message to the body, telling it to wake up to restart the breathing process. People with sleep apnea will partially awake as they struggle to breathe, and this is often accompanied by loud snoring or choking sensations. Because people with sleep apnea don’t always completely awake during the episodes, they are often unaware they have a sleeping disorder and it can remain undiagnosed.
There are two main types of this disorder; central sleep apnea which occurs when the brain fails to send important signals to the breathing muscles, and obstructive sleep apnea which occurs when air cannot flow through the nose or mouth even though the body is still trying to breathe. Obstructive sleep apnea is far more prevalent and easily treatable by Dr.Do.
Common signs of obstructive sleep apnea can include severe early morning headaches, sleepiness in the daytime, and insomnia. Fortunately, Dr.Do is equipped with the necessary technology and expertise to treat the root cause of sleep apnea and not just the symptoms.
Reason for treating sleep apnea
It is very important to seek medical attention if sleep apnea is suspected. A sufferer can completely stop breathing numerous times per hour, and this can quickly turn into a deadly situation. Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when the soft tissue lying at the back of the patient’s throat collapses into the airway. The tongue then falls towards the back of the throat which tightens the blockage and prevents oxygen from entering the lungs.
The problem worsens when the chest region, diaphragm, and abdomen fight for air. The efforts they make to obtain vital oxygen only cause a further tightening of the blockage. The patient must arouse from deep sleep to tense the tongue and remove the soft tissue from the airway.
Because sleep apnea causes carbon dioxide levels to skyrocket in the blood and oxygen levels to decrease, the heart has to pump harder and faster to compensate for the lack of oxygen. Sleep apnea patients can technically “die” many times each night. Sleep apnea has been linked to a series of serious heart-related conditions and should be investigated by Dr. Do at the earliest opportunity.
What does sleep apnea treatment involve?
Dr. Do can offer many different treatment options which depend largely on the exact diagnosis and the health of the patient. Dr. Do will initially obtain records to check the root cause of sleep apnea, which is the airway. An airway x-ray or Cone Beam Cat Scan (CBCT) is done to check the size of the airway. From then, she can formulate a treatment plan that will best suit each patient.
Depending on your general physician’s recommendation, you may be prescribed a non-invasive sleep apnea treatment such as continuous positive air pathway (CPAP) therapy or an oral appliance. CPAP is a current short term solution but it may not be a suitable solution for all patients. Currently, the treatment of sleep apnea is a CPAP, a dental sleep apnea appliance, or orthognathic surgery. The CPAP, prescribed by a physician, blows continuous air down your throat while you sleep. This air forces the soft tissue to open up so air can enter but it does not change the size of the airway which is the main cause of sleep apnea.
The dental sleep apnea appliance or MRA (mandibular repositioning appliance) is another option. When worn, this appliance moves the bottom jaw forward, thereby opening up your airway while you sleep. This is a short-term temporary solution since studies have not been out to show some side effects of its long term usage. Jaw surgery or orthognathic surgery is another option. This is where the top and bottom jaw are surgically cut and move forward. This can be invasive, costly, and will require some healing time.
At Manoa Dental, we use a unique orthodontic treatment method to move both the top and bottom jaw forward to open up the airway, the root cause of sleep apnea or sleep disorder. This is both a non-invasive and effective long term approach. Using our unique method, we have helped many patients suffering from sleep apnea and sleep disorder. If you are suffering from sleep apnea or snoring and want to get healthy, contact us.
Here is an example of our airway treatment, notice the considerable improvement in the airway
If you feel you may benefit from sleep apnea treatment, contact Keri Dr. Do for a consultation today.