Advanced Dental Sleep Treatment Center

Sleep apnea is a night-time condition that causes the patient to stop breathing at various times throughout the night. Studies have shown that patients usually have pauses in normal breathing hundreds of times each night, each episode lasting up to 30 seconds, if not longer. There are three main types: obstructive, complex, and central. In each type of sleep apnea, your breathing stops too long and too often. But the reason why breathing stops depends on the type.

Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by some sort of blockage that occurs within the airway that impedes the natural flow of breathing. With central sleep apnea, the problems with breathing throughout the night occur because of a miscommunication within the brain. Complex sleep apnea is a combination of these two. This makes diagnosis even more vital as it’s important to not only know if you have it or not, but it’s crucial to know what type you have so that the treatment prescribed to you works flawlessly.

For each patient there is usually a different reason or a combination of factors that cause snoring, but it usually occurs because the soft tissues in the throat along with the soft palate begin to vibrate due to airway restriction. When air isn’t able to flow in and out of your airway freely while you sleep, the tissues within your mouth and throat will begin to vibrate which then causes one to snore. The tissues involved include the:

-Tongue
-Soft palate
-Uvula
-Tonsils
-Adenoids
-Excessive fatty tissues within the throat

Though things such as a poor sleeping position or a cold or other illness may cause you to snore, if you find that you are snoring on a constant basis, it is time to consult with Dr. Roubal so that this problem can be addressed and treated properly. Remember that snoring affects not only you but those around you, especially if it is known to be quite loud.

For those patients who do not do well using the CPAP machine there are many companies who have created other treatment methods. The best alternative to CPAP is the use of oral appliance therapy (OAT) . OAT has been long recognized throughout the dental world as the best alternative treatment and according to the 2015 guidelines issued by the by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) , oral appliances are recommended for any patient who is CPAP intolerant or who prefers alternate therapy. Oral appliances are worn at night and are generally compared to mouthpieces. They are designed in such a way that they move the lower jaw forward which then moves the soft tissues of the throat, such as the tongue, forward as well.

The people who are recommended for sleep tests include people who already have a strong suspicion they have sleep apnea and no other sleep disorders. In these cases, the sleep test is able to confirm the diagnosis of sleep apnea with a high degree of certainty.

At-home sleep tests are also appropriate for people who have a hard time getting to a sleep lab, due to immobility or just because there isn’t one around.

At-home sleep tests may be recommended if you aren’t able to get good results from a lab test because of the unfamiliar setting.

Finally, at-home sleep apnea tests are sometimes used to make sure your oral appliance therapy or other sleep apnea treatment is working properly.

Do you regularly wake with a headache?
Do you wake up with a headache most mornings? If so, then you should be evaluated for sleep apnea. Morning headaches are one of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea—up to 75% of obstructive sleep apnea sufferers get them—and morning headache sufferers are up to 8 times more likely to have sleep apnea than the general population. Worse, some headaches treatments may actually put sleep apnea sufferers at risk, so you should talk to your doctor about sleep apnea before beginning any headache treatment.

Sleep apnea treatment can improve or eliminate morning headaches. Stop taking medication that masks the pain—get rid of it once and for all! Please call (402) 493-4175 or click here to contact Dr. Roger Roubal, Omaha’s foremost sleep apnea dentist.
Sleep Apnea Is Associated with Many Types of Headaches

The “classic” sleep apnea headache has most or all of the following characteristics:
-You feel it when you wake up
-Occurs 15+ days a month

Occurs on both sides of the head, feels like pressure in the head, and isn’t associated with:
-Nausea
-Light sensitivity
-Sound sensitivity
-Resolves within 30 minutes of waking
-Stops within 72 hours of sleep apnea treatment and doesn’t come back

Dr. Roger Roubal is an expert in Sleep Apnea Treatment in Omaha, Nebraska with more continued education, years of experience, and state of the art computer equipment than any other dental professional in the region. Dr. Roubal has over 3,000 hours of continued education with over 500 of those hours focused on the study of sleep.

We participate in network with most medical insurance plans, additionally we are an in network Medicare provider for patients. Our practice is limited to snoring and sleep apnea treatment only. We don’t perform other dental procedures.

Our advanced techniques and extensive experience results in our patients enjoying over a 90% success rate in our treatment. Call our Omaha office at (402) 493-4175 today