Why Is Sleep Apnea Diagnosis Important?

The Dangers
of
Sleep-Related Breathing
Disorders

Sleep disorders come in many forms. Sleep medicine is a relatively new area of study. It is estimated that, conservatively, there are 50 - 70 million chronic sufferers of sleep disorders in the United States alone. The physical impact on the health of the sufferer and his or her family is enormous; however, the impact on society is astounding as well.

Children experiencing this disorder may not thrive, may have poor learning ability in school, and may be misdiagnosed as having ADHD. Some may need adenoids and tonsils removed to improve breathing. Allergists or ENT physicians may need to be involved. Chiropractors may need to help with scoliosis, forward head posturing, and the TMJ headaches sometimes caused by sleep disorders. Dentists may recommend palatal expansion devices to help develop and widen the jaw or promote forward growth of the jaw with a bionator, orthopedic corrector, orthodontic care, Herbst, or other methods to help open the airway.

Many adults are treated for diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, depression, forward neck posture, headaches, jaw joint pain, broken teeth from night grinding, heart disease, excessive daytime sleepiness, automobile accidents, thyroid disorders, cancer, and excess weight with drugs and surgery when much of this could have been prevented by proper diagnosis of sleep disorders. Those who snore are often ignored because it is considered an annoying but normal and unimportant physical condition. Some just laugh about it, not knowing that 80% of those who snore have obstructive sleep apnea.

The cost of the diseases that result from sleep apnea is well into the billions of dollars to people, insurance carriers, our government healthcare system, and our disability benefits systems. The cost to a person's well-being, broken relationships, and physical health is staggering.

These enormous costs to our health and happiness and to governmental agencies can be relatively easily and painlessly addressed compared to the enormous cost of delayed treatment and the diseases it causes. It is better for a person's health and financial security to treat the cause than it is to treat the results of neglect of sleep disorders. There is a way to lower costs for healthcare in this important area of prevention. CPAP/BPAP/AUTOPAP treatment, oral appliances, and weight loss are non-invasive relatively drug-free solutions with tremendous benefits.

Accidents and Disasters Caused by Sleep Apnea

Sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) are the cause of some of our most disastrous modern accidents. They include the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, the accidental grounding of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in Alaska, and the Staten Island ferry crash. It has become such a concern that the DOT is requiring truck shipping companies to routinely require their drivers to undergo sleep studies and treatment to be able to drive these large vehicles on our roads. Oral appliances are sometimes ideal for these types of jobs because they are so much more portable than CPAP machines. Airline pilots are now required to take mandatory sleep time between flight duties.

In 2006, the Institute of Medicine stated that sleep disorders are an "unmet public health problem." More and more studies are confirming that sleep disorders have reached epidemic levels. It has also become evident that some insomnia is caused by SRBD and that the administration of sleep-inducing medications may make the problem worse. Some people have died in their sleep as a result of sleep apnea, regardless of whether or not they take sleep medications. When you stop breathing, oxygen levels in the bloodstream can get so low that you do not come out of it.

These factors have led more and more dentists, chiropractors, and other health professionals to undertake the testing and treatment of SRBD. And, now that more and more recognition that SRBD is the cause of many dental diseases, dentists are learning to provide this care at increasing rates.

Furthermore, dentists are in a position to provide conservative and extremely effective therapy for patients at a cost-effective level not previously achieved in the history of sleep apnea care. Organizations such as the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and the American Sleep and Breathing Academy recommend oral appliances for snoring and also for all levels of severity of obstructive sleep apnea if a patient prefers an oral appliance to CPAP or BPAP therapy or has failed with CPAP therapy. Most medical insurers are now covering much of the cost of this care.

However, before anything can be done to help people with this condition, they must get tested to see if they have obstructive sleep apnea, and that is why this testing center was developed.