People who are still dealing with OSA or Obstructive Sleep Apnea could benefit from mouth inserts, according to a study. OSA is a sleep issue whereby the breathing of an individual is interrupted during brief intervals.

Ideally, a CPAP machine would be recommended by specialists to somehow remedy such a sleep problem, a bit irritating considering you may have to wear a mask when you are sleeping. However, a trip to the dentist may offer another solution in the form of mouth pieces, oral pieces that open up the jaw to provide a bigger airway for people.

With over 40 available oral appliances, it may take more than one try to get the proper one to fit an individual. Temporary devices used on a trial basis can cost $150. Durable devices that last for years can cost $900 to around $1,600.

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Obstructive Sleep Apnea may very well be one of the problems that beseech people these days but if the medical experience by this lady who had been suffering from it is any indication, robotics may soon provide a big boost towards curbing down the sleep apnea problem a lot of people have.

Dorothy Bruhling, 75, had been having rough spells with OSA which may grow serious for some people if they are not careful. But thanks to some medical referrals, Dorothy was able to meet up with Dr. Robert DeFatta, an otolaryngologist who eventually suggested a surgical approach with the aid of the da Vinci robot to remove a discovered obstructive tissue that was interfering with her breathing.

After keeping Dorothy for two nights for observation purposes, she shared that after the surgery that she had not slept that good for two nights in a row.

“All patients after they heal feel so much better,” said DeFatta, who has performed more than 40 base of tongue resections. Bruhling was the first in Wisconsin, he added.

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It is a fact that a large chunk of the population on earth today suffer from sleep disorders but today we focus on an Asian country in Singapore. Apparently all the attention right now is on World Sleep Day and for their part, about 15% of Singaporeans are reportedly affected by sleep disorders.

Sleep disorders caused by the same factors like large tongues or extra tissues which collapse and block the airways of a person have been just some of the identified things associated with the said sleep disorder.

About 25 patients suffering from moderate to severe OSA are diagnosed each month at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Experts recommend that patients use Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, a machine that gently blows air into one’s throat with the help of a mask.

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Here is another scoop for the people looking for remedies for sleep apnea. It seems that acupuncture can be an effective remedy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It can reportedly reduce nocturnal respiratory events, sleep disruptions, and desaturations.

The people behind it claim that this improvement is due to acupuncture’s effects on serotonergic pathways and also acupuncture’s anti-inflammatory effects. Both manual acupuncture and 10Hz electro-acupuncture techniques were found effective. The researchers note that the acupuncture points of the neck are of specific interest because they stimulate the genioglossus muscle on deep insertion.

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Sleep apnea has plagued a number of people and just in case you are wondering what kind of sleep disorder this is, Sleep Apnea is when a person stops breathing for at least 10 seconds. This of course varies, a lot depending on how severe his sleep apnea problem is.

Hence, the Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) recommends consulting your dentist. As far as Obstructive Sleep Apnea is concerned, they are perhaps the best person to consult. OSA is caused when the muscles in the walls of your throat relax too much, causing the airway to collapse.

Dental appliances that reposition the lower jaw and tongue help patients suffering from sleep apnea. The constant pressure helps to keep the airway open and for extreme cases, surgical procedures designed to open the airway include those performed by oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

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Sleep Apnea has been known to be associated with heart problems and apparently that is the case in this new study connecting stroke. OSA doubles the risk of stroke in men and also increases the danger in women. Data was taken from the Sleep Heart Health Study.

Men with moderate to severe sleep apnea are three times more likely to have a stroke than men with mild or no sleep apnea while the increased risk of stroke in women with obstructive sleep apnea was significant only in cases of severe apnea thanks to a study which was published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

(Source) Web MD

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For the people continuously suffering from sleep apnea, Philips Respironics has unveiled a new sleep therapy system that should address people who are having breathing difficulties at night. The new Continuous Positive Airway Pressure machine offers a new bi-level airway pressure technology which delivers a gentle flow of pressurized air through a mask and into the user, keeping their airway open and improving quality of rest.

With the growing number of people suffering from sleep apnea, this new system should be a welcome addition. OSA is a common condition that affects more men than women, with about 3.5 per cent of men and 1.5 per cent of women suffering from it in the UK.

(Source) Silent Night

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I am sure many of you are plagued by snoring loved ones causing you to either get very little sleep or you just had to live with it. Among the wide range of anti-snoring devices available out there, uvulopalatopharyngoplasty surgery can prevent snoring. You might want to try this if you have some serious snoring problems.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

LAUP became popular during the 1980s when it was aggressively marketed as a so-called “cure” for snoring. It was first emloyed by Yves Victor Kamami, a surgeon of the Marie-Louise Clinic in Paris, France, on people who were of slender build. Early results seemed favourable, and studies of flawed methodology were published. Longterm follow-up information was omitted entirely. The practice of using lasers to address snoring became widespread. During the late 1990s, researchers (including Finkelstein, Schmidt and others) published data which demonstrated that in a considerable number of cases, laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty may also cause mild OSA in patients who formerly were nonapneic snorers, or lead to deterioration of existing apnea. These results are attributable to thermal damage inflicted by the laser beam.

Picture via findlayent

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