Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Thirty to fifty percent of adults snore.  Snoring increases with age and is more common in men than in women.  Forty percent of men and twenty percent of women over thirty snore habitually.  Fifty percent of them have obstructive sleep apnea which can be life threatening. Alarmingly, eighty percent of them are undiagnosed.

Proper diagnosis for sleep apnea is necessary before treating snoring.  Snorers don’t necessarily have OSA or OSA patients are not necessarily snorers.

 Most common form of sleep apnea is Obstructive Sleep Apnea or OSA.   Mild to moderate OSA can be effectively treated by dentists using oral appliances.  Favorable compliance with use of oral appliances makes it a more successful option of treating OSA than the more cumbersome and the less favored medical options. 

Causes of air passage restriction include that cause snoring and/or sleep apnea include-

Obstruction of nasal airway

Weak throat muscles with advancing age or use of medications and alcohol.

Sleeping position

Obesity

It is said that we can live three weeks without food, three days without water but only three minutes without oxygen. OSA can take off twelve to fifteen years of one’s life while smoking and Type 2 Diabetes shorten by five to ten years.

Consult your dentist or sleep physician for more information on the condition and treatment options.

 Call 909 627-6699 for appointment or visit www.mydentistchino.com  for more  information on our services.