Sleep Deprived? Is Snoring Disturbing your Relationship? Hate CPAP? Try a Custom Oral Appliance

April 12, 2012 - PRLog -- Dothan, AL – Keith A. Blackmon DDS at Family Dental Care of Dothan,107 Professional Lane Dothan, Alabama 36303, can answer your questions about your sleep disorder, sleep disorder symptoms and your sleep deficit.  Dr. Blackmon can provide patients with a solution to get tested, get treated and get the freedom to sleep better.

An estimated 40% of adult men and 24% of adult women suffer from habitual snoring, according to a report by the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM).  In addition, the AADSM has found that 50% of snorers have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a dangerous, life threatening disorder that affects nearly 20 million Americans.  Furthermore, 75% of people with TMD/TMJ (temporomandibular disorder) have sleep apnea and 52% of sleep apnea sufferers have signs and symptoms of TMD.

“Forty million people in the US suffer from chronic long-term sleep disorders each year,” notes nationally recognized sleep medicine expert, Dr. Ira Shapira.  “Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can lead to hypertension, heart attack, stroke, depression, muscle pain, fibromyalgia, morning headaches and excessive daytime sleepiness.”

OSA happens when the tissue in the upper-airway blocks the entire airway, causing a pause in a person’s breathing. This blockage keeps air from getting into the lungs, lowering a person’s blood-oxygen levels. For OSA sufferers, this pause in breath can happen for 10 to 30 seconds, sometimes for one minute or more, hundreds of times a night.

OSA is often treated with the CPAP machine, but only half the people prescribed CPAP use it regularly.  “That decision could kill,” cautions Dr. Shapira.

Dr. Blackmon is a member of the I Hate CPAP Network - http://www.ihatecpap.com/ - which provides an appliance alternative to CPAP for sleep and snoring suffers who can't tolerate CPAP or want a comfortable no-mask treatment option.

Oral appliance therapy is much better tolerated by patients and treatment compliance is estimated at 90-95%, according to the AADSM.   “Oral appliances for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea offer patients a treatment option that is safe, effective and easy to use,” according to the National Sleep Foundation.  Oral appliances are also approved by the FDA.

Want to sleep better tonight?  Call sleep apnea Keith A. Blackmon at (334) 792-5711.

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Dr. Blackmon is a member of the I Hate CPAP Network -http://www.ihatecpap.com/ - which provides information about appliance alternatives to CPAP and a national sleep apnea dentist directory.