Sleep Apnea Treatment in Warrenton, VA
We all know that restful, uninterrupted sleep is important for feeling good and functioning properly during the day. Sleep apnea is a common culprit of daytime drowsiness. It causes a sufferer to momentarily awaken as many as 50 times or more per hour while they sleep! Virginia Sleep Solutions, a division of the practice of Drs. Yung & Jelinek, can help you get the restful sleep your body needs.
Doctor Jim Jelinek on Virginia Sleep Solutions
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Doctor Jim Jelinek on Virginia Sleep Solutions
Virginia Sleep Solutions is a sleep obstruction practice that we've started. We heard about sleep apnea and we took courses on it and everything and didn't realize how serious a problem it is. It's a life-threatening problem because patients who stop breathing in the middle of the night, what's happening is they're actually suffocating during these episodes of when they stop breathing and their—what’s called the oxygen in your blood, the oxygen level, goes down to levels that you can't even do when you're awake.
You couldn't hold your breath and get down as far as what these people are getting while they're sleeping, so what's happening too, is this is affecting their organ systems as well. You get a whole host of things going on. When somebody quits breathing, their heart starts pumping faster and harder to get oxygen that's not happening. Their body is dumping sugar into the blood to give the heart energy to work, so you've got problems with high blood pressure, you've got strokes that can occur from that, you've got diabetes that can happen with that.
There's a whole host of other things going on. Patients aren't rested with that so in doing the course and everything, we really understood the importance of treating that. The way we treat that is we do oral appliances. There is a device that's called a C-PAP that patients use. That's the golden standard for treating sleep apnea but 50% of the people don't like to use it or can't use a C-PAP. They're either claustrophobic or it just doesn't work for them for some reason or another.
Whereas an oral appliance, what that does is it fits in the mouth and what it does, it helps open the airway in the back of the throat. That's what causes sleep apnea because the airway collapses at night when you're sleeping and it, essentially, puts a cork in the airway and you can't breathe. The appliance that we use actually will bring the jaw forward and helps open, assists in opening that airway so the patient can breathe better.
Sleep apnea treatment in Warrenton has many benefits, including:
- Reduction or elimination of snoring
- Feeling more rested and refreshed upon waking
- Feeling more alert during the day
- Higher energy levels
- Better overall health
- Potential to eliminate CPAP therapy
Do you feel like you may not be sleeping as restfully as you should? Let us know during your next dental exam, or contact our sleep experts today to schedule a stress-free consultation for obstructive sleep apnea: 540-253-1377.
Let Our Sleep Experts Improve Your Rest
Virginia Sleep Solutions has the expertise to help you get a good night’s rest and feel better. When you visit our office, we’ll examine you and ask you a few questions. If we determine you have symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, we’ll arrange for you to complete a convenient in-home sleep study for analysis by our sleep study partner.
If it is determined that you suffer from sleep apnea, we’ll create a custom mouthguard to gently push your lower jaw forward while you sleep. This appliance will help keep your tongue and tissues in the back of your throat from closing off your airway. With a mouthguard:
- Symptoms of sleep apnea, along with noisy snoring, will disappear
- You’ll sleep better and feel more rested
- Your overall health may begin to improve
Avoid Health Issues Related to Sleep Apnea
The soft tissues in the back of your throat, including your tongue, naturally relax during sleep. When these tissues collapse so much that they close off your windpipe, your airflow is blocked. That is when sleep apnea – usually along with loud snoring – can occur.
The loss of airflow will cause you to wake up just long enough to restore muscle tone to the tissues in your throat, restoring airflow and proper breathing. For people with severe sleep apnea, this cycle can repeat nearly once a minute, usually leaving no memory of ever waking up! If not treated, sleep apnea can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, depression, fibromyalgia, weight gain, headaches, hormone imbalances, and more.
Take Action Now If You Have Sleep Apnea Risk Factors
Many factors affect whether an individual will suffer from sleep apnea complications, including:
- Being overweight
- Large neck size (17” and over for men, and 16” and over for women)
- Being over age 40
- Having a small upper airway
- Smoking
- Alcohol use
- Having a recessed chin, small jaw, or overbite
- Family medical history
You deserve a great night of sleep! Call Virginia Sleep Solutions today at 540-253-1377 to schedule a consultation for sleep apnea treatment in Warrenton. You can also schedule online.
