The Voices of Sleep Apnea

There is a well presented blog written by Tara Parker-Pope at the New York Times web site. The link is http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/the-voices-of-sleep-apnea/. It's worth reading and commenting on especially if you have been treated successfully with an oral appliance.

Millions of people with undiagnosed and untreated sleep apnea suffer from heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and excessive daytime sleepiness without knowing the cause.

Obstructive sleep apnea has been causally related to many medical problems. While the conventional treatment for sleep apnea is a medical device known as CPAP (continuous positive air pressure delivered through a nasal tube) many people cannot tolerate this device.

Now there is a medically approved treatment known as oral appliance therapy that is delivered by specially trained dentists. This is not to be confused with the over-the-counter devices seen on the Internet or advertised on television. Oral appliance therapy is a treatment that has been approved by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine.

Dentists will work directly with physicians to determine if this therapy is appropriate for use for the individual patient and monitor the continuing therapy until therapeutic results are achieved.

The practice parameters for oral appliance therapy were published in the February 2006 issue of the journal Sleep. THe abstract is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16494092.

For more information, please visit http://www.snoringisntsexy.com

Dr. Barsh