Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment Options: CPAP Therapy, Oral Appliances, and Advanced Airway Solutions

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your airway becomes blocked multiple times while you’re asleep. Certain factors increase your risk of obstructive sleep apnea, including being overweight, having large tonsils, or having a thick neck.

Symptoms of sleep apnea include loud snoring, feeling tired even after a good night’s rest and waking with headaches. Untreated, sleep apnea Russellville KY can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.

CPAP Therapy

CPAP devices are a proven, effective treatment for sleep apnea and other breathing disorders. A CPAP device blows air at a steady, comfortable pressure through the nose or mouth to prevent snoring and open the airway for clear, healthy breathing during sleep. Having enough oxygen during sleep is important because untreated, sleep disturbances can result in high blood pressure and heart disease, stroke, memory loss, impotence, weight gain and depression.

The medical center at Russellville is fully equipped to recognize and diagnose a wide variety of sleep disorders in adults and children. We also have a state-of-the-art sleep lab, where patients are monitored under the supervision of board-certified physicians and trained polysomnographic technicians.

Adaptive Servo-ventilation (ASV): This machine learns your normal breathing pattern, then uses air pressure to keep the upper airway open during sleep. It is more successful than CPAP at treating central sleep apnea in some patients. The implantable device is controlled by a handheld sleep remote, which allows you to turn it on before bed and off when you wake up, increase or decrease stimulation strength, and change your settings during the night.

Oral Appliances

Oral appliances are custom-fitted, mouthguard-like devices that help keep the airway open during sleep. They are less expensive and more convenient than CPAP machines, and can reduce symptoms of sleep apnea. These devices can also be used to treat snoring.

The most common oral appliance is the mandibular advancement device, which works by repositioning the lower jaw. Other types of oral appliances include tongue retaining devices, or TRDs, which prevent the tongue from falling into the airway during sleep. There are also combination appliances that provide the benefits of MADs and TRDs.

Oral appliances are a great option for patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea or for those who cannot tolerate CPAP therapy. They are also an effective treatment for snoring and can restore energy levels and facilitate better health. Exceptional Dentistry offers ProSomnus and SomnoMed, two of the most popular and advanced appliances available for treating sleep apnea Russellville KY. These appliances fit into the mouth like a mouth guard, nightguard or orthodontic retainer and work by gently repositioning the lower jaw, making it more difficult for the tongue to fall into the airway.

Tongue Stimulation Surgery

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea, which causes pauses in breathing and lower oxygen levels. The pauses can last from a few seconds to a few minutes, and occur repeatedly during the night. This can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, memory problems and daytime sleepiness.

Inspire upper airway stimulation is a surgically implanted device that works with the natural breathing process to prevent apnea episodes. The device consists of an electrode that surrounds the hypoglossal nerve under the tongue, and a sensor in your chest to mark each breath. The electrode stimulates the nerve each time you breathe, pushing your tongue forward and opening your airway.

You can turn the device on and off with a remote, and you can choose to have it active only at night or all day. This treatment has been shown to be effective for obstructive sleep apnea, but may also help with central sleep apnea as well.

Consultation

Although untreated sleep apnea can cause severe short-term health problems, effective management of the condition can help you live a longer life. The risk for developing obstructive sleep apnea increases with age, and your risk is greater if you have a family history of the disease.

Diagnosing sleep apnea involves an evaluation by a healthcare professional based on your symptoms and health history. They may recommend a sleep study, which is usually performed overnight in a laboratory to monitor your heart rate, oxygen levels, airflow and breathing patterns. They may also refer you to a specialist for further testing like an ear, nose and throat doctor or to a physician who specializes in the brain, known as a neurologist.

Some patients with obstructive sleep apnea are good candidates for tongue stimulation surgery, which is a surgical procedure that can treat the cause of snoring and the pauses in breathing that characterize obstructive sleep apnea. Owensboro Health offers this treatment option, which uses a device implanted in the mouth that stimulates the tongue to keep it from falling back into the airway.