INTRO

At Waverly Sleep Well Solutions, we pride ourselves on providing the highest quality care for our patients suffering from sleep-related breathing problems including snoring and sleep apnea. Uncomfortable and cumbersome CPAP is no longer the only option! Contact us today for a complimentary consultation to see if you are a candidate for a comfortable and easy to use oral device.

ABOUT

Our practice is prepared to screen for O.S.A., and offer solutions such as oral appliance therapy. We employ the latest cutting edge techniques and technology to ensure a positive experience and successful outcome for all of our patients. Call us today with any questions you may have, or if you or your bed partner snore, or have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and are looking for a CPAP alternative.

SLEEP APNEA

What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Sleep apnea is essentially your body choking on itself and causing repeated episodes of partial or complete suffocation sometimes lasting a minute or more. These choking and suffocating episodes repeat constantly throughout the night causing a myriad of health complications including increased risk of stroke, heart attack and even death. The cause of this collapse in the airway is usually due to the soft tissues in the mouth , tongue or throat closing down and blocking airflow during sleep. The first sign of this is usually snoring which happens when you are attempting to breathe through a narrow airway. If left untreated snoring often escalates to full OSA where the narrow airway is now completely blocked. Nearly 1 in 4 adults over 30 are unknowingly suffering from at least mild sleep apnea.

Are you at risk?

• Do you snore loudly (louder than a person talking or loud enough to be heard through closed doors)?

• Do you often feel tired, fatigued or sleepy during the day?

• Has your spouse or bed partner ever observed you stop or pause breathing in your sleep?

• Do you have or are you being treated for high blood pressure?

• Are you overweight or obese?

• Are you over 50 years old?

• Is your neck circumference greater than 16 inches?

• Are you male?

If you answered yes to two or more of the above questions then you should have your sleep health evaluated.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Oral Appliances

Our practice specializes in fitting patients with a custom fabricated oral appliance to manage sleep apnea. The appliance works by holding your mandible (lower jaw) in a precise open and forward position and by doing so all the soft tissues in your throat and neck are no longer able to collapse and cause the nighttime choking and suffocating episodes. The appliance we make will be custom made for your teeth and will fit much like a sports mouth guard. Oral appliances are a very comfortable and easy to use solution for managing sleep apnea and snoring and they are also an excellent alternative to CPAP therapy for patients who find it difficult to tolerate. In 2015 the American Academy of Sleep Medicine issued updated practice parameters recommending the use of custom fabricated oral appliances made by specially trained dentists for patients with snoring and sleep apnea who prefer the mouthpiece over CPAP or who have tried CPAP and are unable to continue daily use.

Am I a candidate for an oral appliance?

Most people are great candidates for an oral appliance. The only way to tell for sure would be to come in for a complimentary consultation at our office. When you come in we will test your airway using our Eccovision Acoustic Diagnostic Imaging system and we may also send you home with a portable sleep apnea monitor. Once everything is reviewed the doctor will discuss treatment options with you.

Not all oral appliances are the same.

These devices are manufactured to strict standards and are FDA cleared specifically to manage Sleep Apnea. Additionally, we use state-of-the-art acoustic imaging technology to ensure your jaw is held in precisely the correct position with the appliance. “at home appliance kits” and other bulky non-custom devices may claim to help with snoring but are not nearly as comfortable or successful as the appliances we use.

CPAP

CPAP is the traditional gold standard for the management of sleep apnea. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Air Pressure and it works by pumping room air through a hose into a nasal mask that is strapped to the patients head. Constant pressure in the airway pushes the collapsible tissues out of the way and maintains and open/stable airway.

While highly effective at managing sleep apnea CPAP has proven to be difficult to tolerate for many patients and a large majority of CPAP users are “non-compliant” within 6 months. If you are having a hard time wearing your CPAP every night please contact us, there are other options and it is imperative that you do something to manage your OSA.

Surgery

There are a few surgical options designed to reduce or remove excess tissue in the airway. Our doctor will review and discuss these options with you if indicated.

TECHNOLOGY

Eccovision Acoustic Diagnostic Imaging System

Our practice uses the Eccovision Acoustic Pharyngometer / Rhinometer system from Sleep Group Solutions to test our patients nasal and oral airways. The device sends sound waves into the airway and the reflected sound waves are measured by the machine to tell us how big the airway is. The Rhinometer measures the nasal airway and the Pharyngometer measures the oral airway. Both systems are FDA cleared and a highly effective way for us to identify the site and severity of airway collapse as it related to snoring and sleep related breathing problems.