Sleep apnea sufferers 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. Many assume that heavy snorers are only the ones who have this problem. Surprisingly, one-fourth of the patients diagnosed with Sleep Apnea never make a peep!
Sleep Apnea is such a dangerous condition that goes undiagnosed, especially for those who are not heavy snorers. This is one of the reasons we offer a ‘take-home’ sleep study.
When Sleep Apnea is suspected, rather than go through a costly night in a sleep center, we can arrange for a sleep study in the comfort of your home using Sleep Optima. The cost is very reasonable and medical insurance typically covers half.
The Sleep Optima device is shipped directly to your home. To begin the test, you simply push one button when you are ready to go to sleep. When you awaken in the morning, you push the same button to turn it off, place the device in the envelope provided and put it in the mailbox.
Within several weeks, our office receives the results, which have been read by a Board Certified Sleep Doctor. The findings are then reviewed with you and, if an oral appliance is recommended, we work with Sleep Optima to obtain appropriate coverage information from your medical insurance. I then begin your treatment by creating a custom-designed oral appliance that is comfortable and will not interfere with your sleep.
We recently treated a patient who had severe Sleep Apnea, although his wife stated he slept silently all night. Once we got his sleep study, I was shocked to see his minimal snoring with such a huge Sleep Apnea problem.
Through Sleep Optima, Sleep Apnea sufferers can get an accurate diagnosis without an expensive and time-consuming process. Plus, this process helps ‘silent sleepers’ rule Sleep Apnea either IN or OUT and begin conservative treatment if it’s truly the culprit to sleep deprivation.
