When people talk about sleep apnea they are usually referring to obstructive sleep apnea or OSA. Obstructive sleep apnea is a chronic condition that occurs during sleep when the muscles in the throat relax, blocking the flow of air.The sleeper stops breathing for periods of 10 seconds or longer.  This causes the amount of oxygen in the blood to drop which signals the brain that something is wrong.  The sleeper then awakens gasping for breath and then goes back to sleep, usually unaware than anything has happened.

Testing for obstructive sleep apnea requires a polysomnograph or sleep study. A very important thing that doctors discover from the study results is how often breathing is affected by these events each night. For those with mild cases of obstructive sleep apnea they may stop breathing between 5 and 20 times per hour, for severe cases breathing can stop more than 35 times per hour.

OSA sufferers usually complain of daytime fatigue so one screening tool that we use to check for possible obstructive sleep apnea is called the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. This short questionnaire asks questions about the likelihood of the patient falling asleep during several situations such as watching TV or just having a conversation. Driving is especially dangerous for obstructive sleep apnea patients who are not treating their condition – driving while sleep deprived is often compared to driving under the influence.

If you or a loved one match these descriptions please contact us today at 614-476-6696 to schedule your consultation. Oral appliance therapy for obstructive sleep apnea is available as a treatment in Columbus.