Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea? Or does the snoring of your partner keep you awake at night? Dr. Foster offers an oral appliance for that!

Dr. Foster has been extensively trained as a specialist in sleep dentistry. We offer an at-home sleep study that you take home and return the next day to the office. No sleep labs required! The results will be sent for evaluation by a physician who specializes in sleep disorders. Dr. Foster then creates impressions and models that are used to produce a custom fitted, comfortable device that you wear at night to keep your airway unobstructed.

During sleep, the muscles and tissues of the upper airway can collapse down and narrow or totally block the opening in the throat for air. A smaller opening can cause the tissue to reverberate and make a loud noise when air is passed by, this is snoring. Should those tissues completely block the upper airway a condition called Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can occur hundreds, sometimes thousands of times per night. A patient may never know they have sleep apnea. With a sleep study, snoring is a 70% predictor of Sleep Apnea.

Snoring is generally considered a mild condition and will generally result in limited daytime symptoms. Disruption to the sleep of the snorer’s bed partner is the most common and irritating side affect. OSA is a much more severe, life threatening, condition in which the sufferer stops breathing repeatedly throughout the night. As a result of these frequent breathing stoppages, oxygen saturation levels in the bloodstream often drop to a dangerous levels. Sleep patterns are disrupted because the body must fight to breath and frequently arouse the sufferer from sleep.

When left untreated, OSA can be life threatening. Sleep Apnea dramatically increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, especially during sleep. Because of the severity of the disorder, all patients must be diagnosed with a overnight sleep study.

• Untreated OSA can take 12 - 15 years off your life

• Smoking takes 7 - 10 years off your life

• Type II Diabetes takes 5 - 10 years off your life

• OSA increases risk of death by 46%

The most common symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea are excessive daytime drowsiness ( from the lack, and poor quality, of sleep ) and snoring. Other symptoms include frequent headaches, including migraines, and cluster types. Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), high blood pressure, impotency, diabetes and even dementia ( Alzheimer’s Disease). Other factors that contribute to snoring and sleep apnea include weight gain, hormonal imbalances, enlarged tonsils & adenoid, orthodontic problems and Temporomandibular Joint Disorders ( TMJ).

Oral appliances therapy is one of the most effective treatment tools available for OSA. Frequently patients will feel positive results immediately the next morning.