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What Is Sleep Apnea and Why Is It Hazardous to Your Health?

Dr. Maryam Seifi, DDS, D.ASBA • Oct 01, 2019

What Is Sleep Apnea and Why Is It Hazardous to Your Health?

In the United States alone, 22 million people are suffering from the health-damaging effects of sleep apnea. But because sleep apnea is not understood very well, as many as 80% of moderate and severe cases of this disorder haven’t even been diagnosed. That means that millions of people struggle to breathe during sleep and are at increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other deadly conditions. Some of these people are dying prematurely as a result. 

By the end of this article, you’ll understand sleep apnea much better, know why severe health effects can be caused by this problem and know how it can be resolved. You’ll also know what action you can take if you or someone in your family has this problem. 

What Exactly Is Sleep Apnea?

It’s a sleep disorder in which a person repeatedly stops breathing for as short as several seconds or as long as a full minute. Each pause is called an “apnea event.” A person with moderate-to-severe sleep apnea will not wake up feeling refreshed and will often be tired, sleepy and less than ideally productive the next day. 

These apnea events may happen a few times a night or hundreds of times in extreme cases. As a result, the oxygen levels in the blood drop and in fact, many sufferers become oxygen-deprived. This deprivation happening over and over each night can and does trigger serious health conditions. 
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What Are the Three Types of Sleep Apnea?

What Are the Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?

A person with obstructive sleep apnea will either snore or go through the gasping, choking pattern described above. They may wake up with a dry mouth because they have been breathing through their mouth all night. 

Naturally enough, when a person suffers fragmented sleep and low blood oxygen all night, they wake up fatigued and unrefreshed. They are likely to be groggy at times during the day and may even fall asleep. They would also suffer a deterioration of motor and verbal skills. They may have a headache when they first wake up and be irritable. Sleep apnea also tends to make a person need to urinate frequently through the night. 
Listen to Jason’s story on how the Vivos appliance turned his life around.

What Are the Serious Effects of Sleep Apnea?

The existence of sleep apnea can go overlooked by the person suffering from it and their healthcare provider because the effects are so broad. This means that an individual could go on struggling with poor sleep and low blood oxygen for years. As the years go by, the consequent damage can develop into life-threatening health conditions which rob a person of an acceptable quality of life. Here are some of the longer-term negative effects of sleep apnea: 
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Lower Mortality Rate Among Apnea Sufferers

A study in Wisconsin of 1,500 people over a twenty-year period found that those with severe sleep apnea died at a rate nearly five times that of people without sleep apnea. Far more people died from cardiovascular causes such as heart attack or stroke than the people in the group without sleep apnea. 

Children and Sleep Apnea

Children as young as two years of age have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, but it is a challenging task to get this diagnosis right. 

Among children, sleep apnea can look like snoring, restlessness during sleep, night sweats or long pauses in breathing. The child may cough or choke during sleep. Parents may just think their child is a restless sleeper.

During the day, symptoms of sleep apnea are quite different in children. A child may be hard to wake up in the morning, have trouble paying attention or learning in school. They may be disciplined repeatedly for behavior problems or be labeled “hyperactive.” They may not gain weight and grow at desirable rates. The sad fact is that children with these signs may simply be suffering from undiagnosed sleep apnea. 
Learn More About Treating Children

How Has Sleep Apnea Been Treated in the Past?

Until now, sleep apnea treatments involved either unsuccessfully helping a person cope with the problem or the use of surgery with its inherent risks. These past sleep apnea treatments include:

CPAP and similar machines: These machines flow air pressure into the airway all night long to help it stay open. They usually consist of a machine that straps over the face, covering either the nose or the nose and mouth. It is difficult for most patients to sleep comfortably with an appliance strapped to their faces. And there’s the sound of a pump running all night. 

Oral appliances: These often look similar to sports mouthguards. They are designed to advance the lower jaw, helping the airway stay open during sleep. While these are tolerable for some people, they don’t correct the structural problems causing sleep apnea. When successful, they help a person breathe, but that person is essentially chained to the use of that appliance for life. There are dozens of these devices on the market, some that can be bought “off the shelf” and others custom-made by a dentist. 

Surgery: Some adults who failed to respond to other solutions opt for surgery. A surgeon may cut away some of the soft palate, i.e., the tissues in the back of the mouth that shield the throat and control swallowing. This surgery could have the effect of making it difficult to swallow or cause a person to choke on crumbs that enter the airway. 

In other cases, a person’s bone structure is underdeveloped which makes them prone to airway obstruction. A surgeon may cut through the jaw bone and move the structure forward, enlarging the lower jaw which gives the tongue more room. The tongue is less likely to fall to the back of the throat during sleep and block the airway. This works for some people but is, of course, quite invasive and exposes the patient to the risks of surgery. 

For children, surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids sometimes improves sleep. 

Medical Breakthrough on Sleep Apnea Treatment

Due to recent medical advances, a person with sleep apnea can now receive treatment that actually corrects the underlying cause. This treatment is centered around the groundbreakingVivos oral appliance which was created based on extensive research into the way the shape of a person’s mouth and jaws affects their airways. When these shapes are ideal, the airway can remain open all night. But when the bones of the lower face are underdeveloped, the airway can collapse at night when muscles in the area relax. 

The Vivos oral appliance works by applying gentle pressure to stimulate bone growth and actually modify the body’s structure. As the bones change shape, the soft tissues, including the soft palate and the tongue, no longer obstruct the airway and a person can maintain an ideal level of oxygen and volume of sleep all night long. 

How Does the Vivos Oral Appliance Work?

While this oral appliance resembles an orthodontic retainer, it is far more sophisticated in its effects and technology. When it’s worn 14 hours each day, this appliance can actually widen the jaws and reshape jaws into a more ideal curved shape. At regular intervals, the prescribing dentist monitors the progress of the jaw and airway restructuring to ensure patients are on the right path to treatment completion. 

The result of correcting these structures? Deep, restful, restorative sleep unimpaired by gasping, snoring, waking and low blood oxygen. When sleep is sound, a person can avoid dangerous illnesses and wake up refreshed each day. Serious health issues can be reversed for a much higher quality of life. 
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Meet Dr. Maryam Seifi

Dr. Seifi is an award-winning dentist that has been providing superior-quality care to her patients for nearly three decades. She has long been renowned among her patients and her community for caring about others’ health with all her heart. 

With these recent discoveries in relieving sleep apnea, Dr. Seifi has realized the vital necessity of bringing this new technology and remedy to both her patients and her community. Thus, she earned the status of Diplomate from the American Sleep and Breathing Academy and established Breath of Life Dental in North Bethesda, MD, to provide patients with Oral Appliance Therapy featuring the Vivos appliance.
Learn More About Dr. Seifi
Listen to Ed’s story on how the Vivos appliance turned his life around.

Attend a Free Educational Workshop 

If you suspect you or a loved one has sleep apnea or a medical condition caused by sleep apnea, we invite you to a free educational workshop at Breath of Life Dental. The seminar further explains what sleep apnea is and how the Vivos appliance is changing the lives of sleep apnea sufferers everywhere. Reserve a seat today by calling 301-818-2653. If you prefer, email us at info@breathoflifeteam.com or register online.

Schedule a Consultation with Dr. Maryam Seifi

If you are interested in finding out more about how sleep apnea could be affecting you or a loved one, call Breath of Life Dental for a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Maryam Seifi. Schedule your consultation today by calling (301) 818-2653 or request an appointment online.

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