Consider the following situation.
You pull up to a red light and your friend who is driving a car in front of you doesn’t move when the light turns green. You wonder to yourself if they were distracted or was there some other problem.
You meet with your friend that day and they are not engaged in any of your conversations. They seem distant and far off. Something is just not quite right.
All too often, these scenarios are played out day after day. Many times without getting to the bottom of what is wrong. There is a need to evaluate these situations further because they could be the underlying results of sleep apnea.
In 2017, there were nearly 91,000 crashes that caused 50,000 injuries and 800 deaths due to falling asleep at the wheel. Many of these occur because that driver has sleep apnea and simply doesn’t get the rest they need in order to be alert on the road.
Sleep apnea is a serious condition and should never be ignored. If you are waking up all night, having trouble staying awake during the day or you are dozing off at unexpected times, you might have sleep apnea.
If these problems are chronic, don’t ignore them. Get a sleep test done right away. The sleep test will confirm whether or not you have sleep apnea and how severe it may be.
From there, you will need to be treated. The gold standard for years has been the CPAP, which stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. However, compliance with CPAP therapy is very low.
There is an alternative solution that fits comfortably in the mouth called Oral Appliance therapy. This device advances your lower jaw forward opening your airway while you sleep. It’s comfortable and made just for you.
If you have questions about sleep apnea and its treatment, then give our office a call today. Dr. Parmar and her team will be glad to answer your questions and help you gain a better understanding of sleep apnea and its treatment.