Sleep Medicine

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder. It is when breathing slows or stops for a few seconds or minutes during sleep. Apnea is when breathing stops for any reason. At night, our breathing is controlled by our brain and nervous system. The various forms of sleep apnea either obstruct or stop your breathing. The various forms of sleep apnea can have the same symptoms. The most common signs are:

• Loud snoring
• Awakening with a dry or sore mouth
• Tiredness after a full night's sleep
• Choking or gasping sounds

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form. With this condition, the throat muscles relax during sleep, blocking the airway. Approximately 18 million Americans – 1 out of every 15 adults – have OSA, which frequently occurs as a result of the tongue falling back in the throat during sleep, blocking the airway and preventing oxygen from going to the blood. When this occurs, for some hundreds of times per night, the brain wakes up the body to take a breath.

Central sleep apnea is when the brain stops sending signals to the muscles to breath, causing breathing to stop. After a short period of time, your body will start breathing again.

You may not realize you have this form of sleep apnea because, unlike obstructive sleep apnea, you may not be woken up by the symptoms.

Mixed sleep apnea is when you experience central and obstructive sleep apnea at the same time. If you think you may have either form of sleep apnea, it may be recommended that you have an overnight sleep study to test for mixed sleep apnea.

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder in which a person has trouble falling or staying asleep throughout the night. Our brains have a wake and sleep cycle. Insomnia may be caused by our brain's need to be awake or it has too little sleep drive. Insomnia can also be caused by other medical or psychiatric conditions like:

• Sinus allergies
• Reflux
• Arthritis
• Asthma
• Chronic pain
• Medications -  high blood pressure, depression, birth control
• Depression

Restless leg syndrome is a neurological sleep disorder that urges you to move your legs. Like other sleep disorders, restless leg syndrome can cause you to see impacts on other areas of your life. Trying to fall asleep can make it hard to get comfortable. Restless leg syndrome can occur during the day, with symptoms worsening at night. Symptoms include:

• Urge to move your legs
• Burning or itching inside your legs
• Trouble sitting for long periods
• Less than 5 hours of sleep per night
• Irritability

Parasomnias are a type of sleep disorders that involve unwanted experiences before, during or after sleep. Some symptoms may include abnormal movements, perceptions or dreams. These dreams can occur through the night and you may have no recollection in the morning. There are various types of parasomnia including:

• Sleep walking
• Sleep terrors
• REM sleep behavior disorder
• Frequent nightmares
• Bedwetting
• Sleep hallucinations
• Sleep talking

Narcolepsy is a lifelong sleep disorder where you feel very tired suddenly, which may even cause you to fall asleep instantly. There are two types of narcolepsy:

• Type 1: During the day you feel excessive sleepiness and may have sudden muscle tone loss triggered by a strong emotion.
• Type 2: Experience excessive sleepiness but do not experience loss of muscle tone. Taking a nap will leave you feeling refreshed.

This disorder is extremely rare in children, but about 2,000 people have some form of narcolepsy and may not be aware. Symptoms of narcolepsy include:

• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Hallucinations
• Sleep paralysis
• Memory problems
• Sudden loss of muscle tone

Maxillofacial surgery

This treatment is for patients with severe sleep apnea. The surgeon moves your jaw forward to expand your breathing space during the procedure.

Palate surgery

Palatal implants may be an option for patients who snore or have mild sleep apnea. During this surgery, small rods are placed in the soft palate of your mouth to prevent your airway from being blocked.

Upper Airway Stimulation

Upper Airway Stimulation is an FDA-approved, implantable, mask-free treatment option for people with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Inspire Medical Systems is the only company to offer UAS – the first-ever implantable device for treating OSA. Upper airway stimulation could be an option for patients who:

• Have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea
• Have concerns about sleep deprivation and lack of oxygen while sleeping
• Feel too tired to perform daily tasks 
• Are not significantly overweight
• Don’t benefit from a CPAP machine
• At least 22 years of age

Depending on the results of your sleep medicine consultation and sleep study, we offer various treatment options. These may include:

• Behavioral therapy
• Biofeedback
• Cognitive therapy
• CPAP machine
• Dental guards
• Medications
• Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP)
• Adaptive Servo-Ventilation (ASV)
• Average Volume Assured Pressure Support (AVAPS)

Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)

CPAP is the most common—and most successful—treatment. CPAP is a device that blows air under pressure and pushes soft tissues aside during sleep. For those with mild sleep apnea, a dental device can be used to open the airway.