Snoring is an important warning sign of Obstructive Sleep Apnea, also known as OSA.
OSA occurs when the airway partially or completely collapses and blocks air from reaching your lungs. People who suffer from sleep apnea can stop breathing from five to over one hundred times per hour!
It is estimated that over 85% of people that have OSA have never been diagnosed and don’t know they have a serious medical condition.
A Cause for Concern
If you stop breathing over and over when you sleep, it wreaks havoc on your body. Your oxygen levels in your blood drop and your heart rate increases. Your body sends messages to your brain that you need to fight for more air, which causes you to wake up.
Your hormones get out of balance, which ultimately affects your metabolism and body weight. But wait. There is even more bad news.
Here are a few other health and social problems related to sleep disordered breathing:
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Acid reflux
- Depression and anxiety
- Excessive sleepiness
- Obesity
- Irritability and lack of focus
And these are just a few disorders related to sleep disordered breathing.
If your OSA is not treated, you could potentially end up in the hospital with life-threatening problems that require more extensive and costly procedures.
We Can Help You and Your Loved Ones
Here at Cater Galante Orthodontics, we are making snoring and sleep apnea a top priority by offering to all of our patients and their referrals a complimentary 30 minute evaluation and screening to see if you are truly suffering from OSA. The good news is that you do not need to go to a sleep lab to sleep on a strange bed with wires hanging off your body all night.
We have partnered with a national company that is the leader in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with OSA.
Many of the patients we have been able to diagnosis and treat require a simple oral appliance that they wear at night that helps to hold their jaw slightly forward to prop open their airway. It is really that simple and works extremely well for most patients.
If it is determined that you need another type of treatment, we have a physician referral network in place to help you get exactly what you need to solve your problem.
The good news is that, for most patients, their medical insurance will cover the majority of the cost of the treatment and appliance if needed.
As dental professionals, we are uniquely qualified to evaluate the signs and symptoms of snoring and sleep apneas because we are looking into patients’ mouths each and every day.
And guess what?
Your mouth is one big opening to your airway!
Call our offices today at 916-435-8000 to schedule your free evaluation and screening. Let us help you get started on the path to a better night’s sleep and better health now, and in the future.
