Description
Sleep apnea is a serious condition characterized by intermittent interruption of breathing throughout the night. We can help. Dr. Sharp uses a custom oral appliance to reposition your jaw and keep your airway open, allowing you to breathe easily again.
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Sleep apnea is when a person goes to sleep,
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they forget to breathe,
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or they stop breathing several times through the night.
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So we call that sleep apnea.
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That's something that can only be diagnosed by the medical profession.
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However, there are several signs and symptoms that we see in dentistry
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that lead us to an understanding that maybe that is happening.
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In dentistry, we treat patients for snoring.
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We use anti-snoring appliances
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which are called mandibular advancement devices
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or mandibular advancement appliances.
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There are several dentists talking about these things
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and helping people to breathe better anecdotally
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through the use of these appliances.
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And what they do is they actually advance the lower jaw out forward,
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which brings the tongue with it and opens up the airway behind the tongue.
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So if a person really wants to know if they have sleep apnea,
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we refer them to a sleep center.
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If they're diagnosed with sleep apnea,
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the gold standard in the medical profession is a CPAP,
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which is a way to deliver positive air flow
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by forcing air into a constricted airway tube.
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So there's nothing wrong with a CPAP,
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but there are several people that are intolerant
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or unable to wear a CPAP.
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So in those situations,
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there are special exemptions that the medical profession
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has that allows them to write a prescription
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for us to make a mandibular advancement appliance
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or a mandibular advancement device.
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That would be another alternative to a CPAP for sleep apnea.