Baton Rouge Sleep Apnea

A simple appliance could make a big change in your life.If you've been diagnosed with sleep apnea and/or have a problem with snoring, Dr. Perry may be able to help you with a mandibular advancement appliance.

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

"Apnea" means "no breath." Sleep apnea (also called obstructive sleep apnea or OSA) is a condition which results in periodic interruptions in the breathing of the sufferer while they sleep. The long term health affects of chronic sleep apnea can be devastating:

• Impaired memory, poor job performance
• Personality changes, excessive irritability
• Depression
• Irregular heart beat
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Heart attack

If this list of symptoms sounds familiar, ask your regular doctor to refer you for a sleep assessment with a sleep specialist. This will either confirm or rule out a sleep disorder as the source of your symptoms, and identify the level of severity. Mild to moderate sleep disorders can almost always be treated with an oral appliance.

Sleep Apnea Treatment

If you are diagnosed with a mild to moderate sleep disorder, Dr. Perry will custom fit you with an oral appliance such as the SilentNite® or the TAP® (Thornton Adjustable Positioner) adjustable mandibular advancement devices. Dr. Perry will take an impression of your teeth, then send the impressions to the lab, where they will manufacture the appliance, which will look something like the one pictured to the right.

This type of appliance moves your lower jaw forward slightly. This helps to prevent obstructions (and the resultant snoring and apnea episodes) by tightening the muscles and soft tissues of the upper airway.