Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is often undiagnosed, yet can have life-threatening consequences in sufferers. 

Knowing if you have sleep apnoea is very important, because it is potentially life-threatening and likely to be life-shortening. The level of OSA you are suffering from is also important to know. It may be mild, moderate, or severe to very severe.

Therefore, we highly recommend you book a consultation with Future Dental’s highly-experienced sleep dentists to assess your condition. 

What is obstructive sleep apnoea? 

In those who have the condition, the muscles that line the upper airways from the nose and mouth relax, and the diameter of the airway is reduced during sleep. This airway collapses, causing a total or partial blockage of air passing to and from the lungs, and thus a lack of oxygen being delivered to the entire body.

The normal amount of oxygen dissolved in your blood while you are awake is over 95%. In severe OSA, that oxygen level can drop to less than 70% with dire consequences.  

What problems can obstructive sleep apnoea cause? 

There are various problems which can occur as a consequence of obstructive sleep apnoea, including: 

• Heart attacks and strokes.
• Most heart attacks at night are because of OSA.
• Reduction in heart rate variability in sleep which is connected to risk of heart attack.
• Uncontrollable high blood pressure.
• Atrial Fibrillation.
• Diabetes. 
• Dementia and cognitive decline.
• Mental health issues including depression and anxiety.
• Worse outcomes in cancer sufferers.
• Loss of libido and erectile dysfunction.
• Fatigue.

With this list of problems caused by OSA, you owe it to yourself and your loved ones to have a proper diagnosis. These are only the more common problems associated with OSA, with many out there not being noticed. To find out more, you should talk to your doctor. 

If you have not had a Diagnostic Sleep Test in the last year but experience day-time drowsiness and lack of concentration, it might be timely to have a sleep test. If you have had a sleep test that did not include an ECG to monitor your heart, it may fail to pick up vital changes in heart function that could result in a heart attack. 

Many people think of OSA as a disease that only affects overweight and older people. This is far from the case. Some who are loudly snoring are completely unaware they may already have progressed to having OSA. If you have had any sleep tests, especially recent ones in the last year or so, this information is very relevant.

What is the difference between treating your obstructive sleep apnoea at home yourself, or receiving a full service? 

Whilst some forms of DIY treatment will see some improvement, you will see much better health outcomes from seeking the assistance of a highly-experienced sleep dentist as opposed to treating this potential life-threatening condition yourself. 

After all, obstructive sleep apnoea is potentially life-threatening, yet outside of feeling tired, the person does not feel ill from this sleep disordered breathing. 

As a result, we recommend that you contact the team of experienced Sleep Dentists at Future Dental. We are a full service private dental practice with a special interest in dental sleep medicine, and over 40 years of experience in treating sleep disorders.

Sleep apnoea treatment options

Future Dental offers a range of solutions to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, including the Oventus O2Vent. In our experience, we have found that we place more O2Vent sleep mouth-guards than any other solution, as this appliance not only pulls the lower jaw forward to help stop the tongue dropping back and blocking the throat during sleep, but also has in in-built airway that bypasses the tongue and soft palate, while helping to breathe through the nose. 

While CPAP was considered the gold standard in treating those who suffer from sleep apnoea, there is a very high dropout rate with up to 50% of users abandoning these bulky face masks by the end of year one, and up to 83% by end of year two. These oral appliances are expensive and are of no use if they are not being worn.

A well-fitting mandibular advancement splint (MAS) is far more likely to be worn all night, every night and is shown to be virtually as effective as CPAP in managing OSA.  

Why have one professionally fitted as opposed to doing it yourself?

It is important to have a professional assessment, as a sleep dentist will facilitate the full diagnosis of sleep apnoea. Assessment of where the obstruction and airway muscle sites of collapse occur is vital to effective management.

• This will often involve teamwork with other specialists to whom we refer, and with whom we work. This will involve liaising with ENT specialists, sleep specialists, heart specialists and other necessary team members.
• Full advice on home management and life-style adjustments to help with OSA. 
• Nasal obstruction assessment and referral for management is essential.

• Is there any impending dental work needed that will change the shape of any teeth after your appliance is made, and render it no longer fitting? You need to know this before getting impressions done, as losing a tooth or having a crown, bridge or implant done after, will make the MAS not fit any longer. Even big fillings might cause it to not fit, if done after the O2Vent MAS is made.

• Accurate impressions are essential in ensuring the appliance works as intended. It takes a dentist years to learn these skills.
• Follow up to iron out any problems you may be experiencing is provided routinely.
• Arrangement of follow up sleep studies and ongoing referrals to specialists if needed is done. 
• While a DIY O2Vent may be cheaper than through a highly experienced Sleep Dentist, what price do you place on proper management of a potentially lethal disease?
• Is a do-it-yourself treatment of something as serious as OSA in your best interest? 
• Your decision whether you go directly to Oventus for supply of the materials needed to take your own impressions or visit a Sleep Dentist.

Visit a sleep dentist in Cairns

If you see yourself being able to physically attend our dental office, no doubt this is the best way to address your OSA or snoring. To get in touch with a professional sleep dentist, be sure to get in touch with Future Dental.

If you go ahead and have the O2Vent device made on your first visit, we do not charge a separate consultation fee. The total fee will be $2,300. 

If we determine that dental work is needed before taking impressions for your device, we will make the appropriate arrangements. You can discover more about the dental services provided by Future Dental here.