Sleep Apnea - Weston, WI

Sleep Apnea

Dr. BublikDr. Bublik Talks About Sleep Apnea

Our office provides effective sleep apnea treatment in Weston, WI. For patients suffering from sleep apnea, excessive sleepiness is just the tip of the iceberg. Left untreated, sleep apnea raises blood pressure, increases the risk for heart attack, and leads to memory loss or lack of concentration that may put your job or life on the line. Sleep apnea is the repeated cessation of breathing for ten seconds or more during sleep. These repeated incidences of breathlessness interrupt sleep as patients are awakened to restart breathing. The cumulative effect of waking multiple times, even if the person doesn’t remember, is detrimental to health. There are two main types of sleep apnea: central and obstructive. Central is a more rare form of sleep apnea that occurs when the brain fails to signal the body to inhale during sleep, and it typically occurs as a result of stroke and traumatic brain injury. The more common form is obstructive sleep apnea, and this is the type the team at Dental Visions treats.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea or OSA is caused when the airway is fully or partially blocked during sleep. This can happen due to sinus inflammation if a patient is sick or suffers from allergies, but for patients who consistently suffer from OSA, the culprit is typically the jaw. When patients relax their jaw during sleep, muscles, joints, or fat shift towards the throat blocking the airway.


How Sleep Apnea Works

Patients suffering from OSA may not recognize their symptoms as resulting from sleep apnea at first, but some of the warning signs to watch for include:

  • Snoring
  • Morning headaches, dry mouth, or a sore throat
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness
  • Waking gasping or out of breath
  • Acid reflux
  • TMJ dysfunction and its symptoms (about 75% of OSA suffers also suffer from TMD)
  • Depression, memory loss, inability to concentrate, and other cognitive impairments
Oral appliance therapy is typically a viable alternative to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) systems.

An important first step in treating OSA is receiving accurate diagnosis through home sleep testing. This form of testing is approved by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and allows our team to accurately diagnose obstructive sleep apnea.

For patients who have OSA, the first line of defense is a custom oral appliance. Worn during sleep, these appliances often called snore guards shift the jaw forward keeping the airway open. Oral appliance therapy is typically a viable alternative to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) systems.

What Comes Next?

If you’ve noticed any of the symptoms related to OSA, have been diagnosed with sleep apnea but have not been treated, or you are unhappy with your CPAP system, call Dr. Bublik and the Dental Solutions team. Dental Solutions is a general dentistry practice that emphasizes specialty care in the areas of implantology, TMJ disorder, and sleep medicine, and our skilled sleep therapy team works with patients every day to alleviate symptoms of OSA allowing them to get a restful night’s sleep.


Contact our office today to schedule a consultation!

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