Sleep Apnea Disorders

Sleep apnea is a common sleeping disorder where a person has experiences of not breathing during sleep. Over 20 million Americans, mostly overweight men, suffer from sleep apnea. Despite these numbers, sleep apnea is often not treated directly because its symptoms are thought to be those of depression, stress, or just loud snoring. There may be a genetic component to this disorder as it often occurs within families.People with sleep apnea stop breathing for at least 10 seconds at a time; these short stops in breathing can happen up to 400 times every night.

Sleep Apnea is a chronic sleep disorder causing shallow, infrequent or pauses in breathing. According to the National Sleep Foundation, sleep apnea affects more than 18 million Americans and is as common as type two diabetes. Common in both children and adults, there are three main types of sleep apnea. The first is central apnea, followed by the most common form, obstructive apnea and finally the combination of both, mixed/ complex apnea. Although these three types of apnea have differing symptoms and treatments, they all share negative effects on the body and sleep cycles. The quality of sleep is usually lower than normal, as the pauses in breathing can often bring apnea patients from a deep to a shallow slumber, as the body’s natural warning for oxygen. This lack of deep sleep can also cause drowsiness and fatigue during the daytime in addition to eyesight problems and reduced reaction times. Sleep apnea, occurring in both children and adults is higher in prevalence in Hispanic and African-American men.

Dr Avi Weisfogel is a sleep specialist and dentist. He researches and treats sleep apnea using dentistry as a technique. Sleep apnea is condition that causes a person to seize breathing while sleeping for a short period of a few seconds up to a minute. Patients with sleep apnea find it hard to relax and feel refreshed after sleeping due to the interruption of their breathing pattern and it mostly cause by repeated sleep deprivation. More and more people are suffering form it due to the unhealthy culture of people consistently failing to get at least seven to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. As a dentist Dr. Weisfogel is a pioneer in the research and progress of many sleep

Dentist Avi Weisfogel is a sleep apnea pioneer that has contributed much to this problem that is experienced by millions of people across the country. This is a problem that deprives the individual of sleep and leads to further medical complications down the line. Sleep apnea occurs during sleep. the individual stops breathing for several seconds or longer. Often, they wake up coughing or choking until their breathing resumes. However, there is hope for those individuals suffering from this problem. Dr. Avi Weisfogel believes that this illness is easily treated through dentistry.

Sleep apnea is a medical condition that should never be ignored. When a person suffers from this disorder, he or she repeatedly starts and stops breathing when they are sleeping, and this may occur hundreds of times each night. Sleep apnea comes in many forms, with the most common being obstructive sleep apnea. This type of apnea occurs when the muscles of the throat relax. A dentist may need to be seen to assist in the treatment of this condition, one which is often marked by drowsiness during the day and loud snoring at night. What do individuals need to know about this condition?

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep–breathing disorder characterized by momentary episodes of either complete breathing cessation for periods of ten seconds or more (apnea) or significant reductions in breathing amplitude (hypopnea) caused by a collapsed or obstructed airway; these two conditions can lead to hypoxemia (low levels of oxygen in blood) and hypercapnia (high levels of carbon dioxide in blood). Patients are categorized as having mild, moderate or severe OSA depending on the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), which is defined as the total numbers of apnea/hypopnea episodes per hour of sleep. In normal individuals the index is usually 5 or lower, 5-15 in mild, 15-30 in moderate and 30 or more in severe OSA patients (1, 2). In patients with mild OSA the oxyhemoglobin saturation drops to 95% and can drop below 80% in severe cases. Obstruction of the airways results in greater breathing effort and fluctuations in intrathoracic pressure, resulting in arousal, sleep interruption and reopening of the airway (3).

Getting restful sleep is vital. During sleep, blood pressure and body temperature changes, while respiration and heart rate decreases. Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is defined by repeated interruptions in breathing and / or reduced respiratory flow during sleep. The most common symptoms include difficulty breathing, snoring, restless sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, frequent headaches, enlarged tonsils and large tongue volume, and irritability. Sleep apnea can be mild, moderate or severe. If it's left untreated, sleeping apnea may lead to diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity or depression. One common treatment is the use of sleep apnea devices.

Sleep apnea is a life-threatening condition, which is the collapse of the throat and block the airway. Also known as obstructive sleep apnea – OSA, it is associated with obesity, and one of the major risk for heart disease. According to Dr. O’Neil in an OSA the upper airway closes off because the muscles that hold it open lose tone. Therefore, each time the airway closes, there is a pause in breathing. The sleep deprivation worseness obesity as well as causes a severe fatigue during the day. In addition, sleep apnea increase risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, and stroke (American Heart Association, 2015).

Sleep apnea has many different possible causes. In adults, the most common cause of OSA is obesity, which is associated with soft tissue of the throat and mouth. With adults there are many other factors associated with the condition. In children, causes of obstructive sleep apnea often include enlarged tonsils or adenoids and dental conditions such as a large overbite. Some of the less common causes include a tumor or growth in the airway, and birth defects such as Down syndrome and Pierre-Robin syndrome (Jensen). No matter the age, if OSA goes untreated for too long it can lead to serious complications, including accidents, cardiovascular disease, premature death. If you are experiencing any signs and symptoms related to obstructive sleep

Imagine that a person is sleeping and all of a sudden they wake up and are unable to breath. It is a scary thing but this happens to millions of people each year. One of the causes of this is Sleep Apnea. This paper will help identify the disorder of Sleep Apnea, its symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment.

Sleep apnea is categorize into two different groups; Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) is caused by cessations in air flow without respiratory effort. The CSA cases are extremely rare and often are mixed with Obstructive sleep apnea [1]. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the occasional interruption of breathing during sleep as a result of periodic airway blockage. It is more common in middle-aged adults and preschool children [2]. Obstructive sleep apnea is considered a serious medical condition and millions suffer from OSA worldwide. Complications may include: hypertension, heart failure, myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, and stroke [3].

that Dr. Arthur J. Speilman of the Department of Psychology in New York spoke of,

Doctors don’t just prescribe medications for treatment of sleep apnea there are other options. They may prescribe Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Device (CPAP), oral device (OA), surgery, and diet. (Ronald M. Harper, 1988) The outcome depends on the patients’ compliance to treatment. I would like to explain what causes OSA, the treatments for OSA, and the negative effects if left untreated.

Sleep apnea is a condition where an individual's airway collapses during sleeping. As a result, the person goes without breathing for up to a minute and wakes momentarily gasping for breath. This can happen dozens, even hundreds, of times throughout the night. Not getting the oxygen they need, the brain,

An estimated 22 million Americans live with sleep apnea, and 80% of cases of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea go undiagnosed. Because sleep apnea is a disruption of the body's ability to breath properly while sleeping, most often because the tongue slips back, blocking the airway, sleep apnea can cause serious or even lift threatening consequences. Here at California Dental Care & Orthodontics, our patient's health and well being is our priority, which is why we offer free sleep apnea consultations.