Sleep Apnea

Doctor Van Maren is trained to help in the treatment of sleep disorders, including snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. These maladies are common and left untreated can often lead to serious health consequences. Anyone, at any age and any gender, can have these disorders.

The conditions of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea are often the result of a reduced airway associated with enlarged tonsils and adenoids, narrow and constricted dental arches, the loss of muscle tone of the throat, and excess tissue often a consequence of being overweight.

During sleep, the airway relaxes and narrows or closes completely. As a consequence, oxygen is depleted to the lungs, and subsequently to the blood. After 10 to 20 seconds the brain forces the person to awaken briefly so that it can reopen the airway again.

Often these interruptions are so short that the person is not aware that it happens. However, these interruptions can happen often, sometimes hundreds of times a night! This cycle of awakening puts stress on the heart and the drop in oxygen levels caused by not breathing will often lead to an increase in blood pressure.

In adults, the health-related issues associated with these conditions include high blood pressure, stroke, abdominal reflux disease, and coronary heart disease.

There is often excessive daytime sleepiness associated with sleep disorders which can lead to an increased probability of automobile accidents and reduced work productivity.

In children, sleep disorders may be manifested in bed wetting, lack of concentration, and irritability, and may be related to Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD).

In our office at Bay Area Denture and Surgery Center, we provide treatment for adults having these conditions using orthotics (oral appliances) instead of the cumbersome CPAP or painful and often ineffective surgery. An oral appliance looks much like an athletic mouthguard but not as thick. The appliance is well-tolerated and very effective in eliminating snoring and treating obstructive sleep apnea.