All joking aside, when his physician recommended a sleep study for John’s heavy snoring, Sleep Apnea was diagnosed. This explained his daily fatigue, urges to nap, and feeling of not being alert. “I woke up everyday feeling tired,” he explained. Sleep Apnea is a serious problem that affects millions of Americans and is coming to light as one of the most under-diagnosed, life threatening medical disorders in our society. It is statistically more dangerous than drunk driving and has been associated with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight gain, depression and stroke.
Those who suffer with Sleep Apnea endure a nightly pattern where they stop breathing for up to a minute, then wake up gasping for air.This can occur for a hundred or more times a night. To help John (not his real name) overcome his problem and receive steady oxygen levels throughout the night, a CPAP machine was recommended by his physician. A CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure)device is a mask that fits over the face and forces oxygen into the airway under pressure.Although it serves its purpose, the CPAP almost seems medieval. Not only is it very encumbering, it limits movement during sleep and can make itdifficult to sleep. For these reasons, it is estimated that nearly 50% of CPAP users drop out of treatment. Regardless, John tried the CPAP andstruggled to become used to it. On top of that, he experienced leaks in the mask and needed to go back for several adjustments. Finally, he admitted, “Iknew this was never going to work. I wasn’t getting much more sleep than i was before because of the awkwardness of the CPAP. I’d often end up taking it off during the night for frustration.Because one’s tongue, tonsils and soft palate are directly related to night-time breathing, involvement of specially trained dentists has become beneficial to treating many Sleep Apnea sufferers. With the results of John’s sleep study and interaction with his physician, Dr. Barbat was able to develop alternative treatment, one that was comfortable, convenient and effective at the same time.Dr. Ban Barbat began by creating a custom- made mouthpiece for him at her Michigan Cosmetic Dental Office and He sleeps SOUNDLY & COMFORTABLY now!
