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Breathing & Sleep

SLEEP RELATED BREATHING DISORDERS - SNORING, SLEEP APNEA & UARS

The American Sleep Apnea Association estimates that at least 22 million Americans suffer from Sleep Apnea and that 80% of them may be undiagnosed. Many people don’t know that snoring is not normal and should never occur. But, even if you or your loved one does not snore, you could still be suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS) or another Sleep-Related Breathing Disorder (SRBD).

OSA & UARS have been linked to a number of serious medical conditions such as hypertension, anxiety, obesity, diabetes, asthma, and depression. Dr. Carson and her team at Integrative Dental Arts are passionate about your overall health.

Sleep Related Breathing Disorders

Snoring

During sleep, your tongue and throat tissues may relax so much that it narrows your airway. Snoring is the sound produced when air passes through this partially blocked area causing tissues to vibrate.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

OSA is a medical condition in which your tongue and soft tissues actually close off your airway and stop air from entering your lungs during sleep. When this happens, the oxygen in your blood decreases, your heart races, and your brain panics, causing you to startle awake. After a few good breaths, the cycle repeats itself, all night long.

Snoring

During sleep, your tongue and throat tissues may relax so much that it narrows your airway. Snoring is the sound produced when air passes through this partially blocked area causing tissues to vibrate.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

OSA is a medical condition in which your tongue and soft tissues actually close off your airway and stop air from entering your lungs during sleep. When this happens, the oxygen in your blood decreases, your heart races, and your brain panics, causing you to startle awake. After a few good breaths, the cycle repeats itself, all night long.

About Obstructive Sleep Apnea & Snoring

While sleeping, our muscles relax. Sleep apnea is caused when our neck muscles relax so much that the airway collapses and breathing is compromised—until we wake up and our muscles restore the shape of our airway—thus allowing us to breathe again.

During these episodes, our oxygen levels can drop to dangerous extremes. Apnea has been demonstrated to increase blood pressure during sleep by as much as 20 to 40 points above normal. It is hypothesized that these increases are behind what are known as “silent strokes,” which strip sufferers of cognitive ability in one small area of the brain at a time.

In addition, sleep apnea takes an enormous toll on our sleep quality. With sleep apnea, we can sleep only in small increments because we are continually awakening, preventing deep, REM sleep.

NightLase® Snoring
and Apnea Treatment

Dr. Carson seeks out new technologies that provide her patients greater ease and comfort during procedures. The Nightlase by Fotona is a precision tool that creates impressive results in minimal time with little or no discomfort to the patient in question.

Non-invasive

Increases the quality of a patient’s sleep

Extremely easy for any doctor or dentist to perform

Lessen the effects of snoring and sleep apnea

Safe and patient-friendly treatment

TREAT UNEXPLAINED TEETH/FACIAL PAIN

NightLase® Snoring and Apnea Treatment

Dr. Carson seeks out new technologies that provide her patients greater ease and comfort during procedures. The Nightlase by Fotona is a precision tool that creates impressive results in minimal time with little or no discomfort to the patient in question.

Non-invasive

Increases the quality of a patient’s sleep

Extremely easy for any doctor or dentist to perform

Lessen the effects of snoring and sleep apnea

Safe and patient-friendly treatment

The Cycle of Sleep Apnea

Fall Asleep

Muscle tone in the body relaxes

Airway Collapses

This causes breathing to be difficult or impossible.
The collapse of the airway may cause loud snoring, snorts, pauses in airflow, and labored breathing.

Oxygen Levels Fall
The patient continues to struggle for breath. Time goes by… 10, 20, 40 seconds… and longer…
Heart Rate Falls
The brain senses low oxygen/high carbon dioxide levels and releases a jolt of adrenaline triggering the”fight or flight” response. This is to awaken the brain and body and prevent suffocation.
Awaken Briefly
We take five or six large breaths, breathing in oxygen and blowing off excess carbon dioxide (CO2). Typically, we do not remember arousal, we just reposition ourselves in bed.
Heart Rate Rises
This is in response to the rush of adrenalin which now pumps above the normal heart rate.
O2/CO2 Levels Return To Normal

The brain allows us to resume sleeping.

Sleep Apnea: Phantom of the Night

It is not unusual for an apneic patient to have over one hundred arousals per night due to apnea, though he or she most likely will not remember any of them. This makes apnea sufferers—especially those who live alone or sleep in bedrooms separate from their partners—vulnerable to not having their condition diagnosed for many years, if ever.

Let’s Get The Facts Straight

Snoring should not be ignored

Snoring is more than just a loud and annoying noise. It can be an indicator of a Sleep Breathing Disorder (SBD) that can be very serious. Approximately 42 million Americans have a SBD.

The most common form of a SBD is Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a medical condition where your tongue and soft tissues close off your airway and stop air from entering your lungs.

The affects of OSA are alarming
  • 70% of heart attack patients have mild OSA
  • 86% of obese type 2 Diabetic patients suffer from Sleep Apnea
  • 43% of patients with mild OSA have Hypertension
  • 48% of type 2 Diabetes sufferers have Sleep Apnea
  • 100K car accidents annually
  • 4X more at risk for stroke
  • Sleep Apnea can also cause memory problems, weight gain, impotence, and headaches if not treated.
  • Untreated OSA can lead to a 30% or more reduced survivability rate over the course of 20 years.
  • Drowsy driving is responsible for 100,000 car accidents, 40,000 injuries, and 1,550 deaths per year.
  • Approximately 38,000 deaths occur on an annual basis that relate to cardiovascular problems that in one way or another are connected to Sleep Apnea. These problems include high blood pressure, hypertension and stroke, among others.
Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea
  • Inconsistent breathing during sleep
  • Snoring
  • Hypertension
  • Depression
  • Obesity
  • Gasping, choking, or coughing during sleep
  • Extreme sleepiness throughout the day.
  • Lethargic feelings
  • Morning headaches
  • Lack of interest in hobbies
  • Dry mouth and/or sore throat in the morning
  • Irregular heartbeat
  • Trouble concentrating or remembering things
More people have OSA than you think
  • 1 in 5 adults have mild OSA
  • 1 in 15 have moderate to severe OSA
  • 9% of middle-aged women and 25% of middle-aged men suffer from OSA

Real Solutions for Snoring, Sleep Apnea & TMJ​

VIVOS DNA/mRNA SYSTEM

The DNA appliance has been shown to help improve facial balance and structure, expand and open the upper airway, and allow teeth to come into alignment naturally. 

A NIGHT GUARD

Night guards have been shown to help improve sleep apnea and TMJ symptoms. Picking the right one is important as it can make your condition worse. 

mandibular advancements appliance

The mandibular advancements appliance is FDA approved for treating sleep apnea as an alternative to CPAP

laser treatment

NightLase® therapy is a non-invasive treatment for increasing the quality of a patient’s sleep. It reduces the effects of sleep apnea and decreases the amplitude of snoring by means of a gentle, laser-induced tightening effect caused by the contraction of collagen in the oral mucosa tissue.

Contact Us

The first step towards a beautiful, healthy smile is to schedule an appointment.

Please contact our office by phone 818-889-0400 or complete this appointment request form.

 Our patient coordinator will contact you to assist in scheduling the right appointment for you.

It is important that we speak with you before scheduling an appointment time to ensure that we have the appropriate time set aside for your specific needs and concerns.

Thank you! We will be in touch soon.