Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is the most common type of sleep apnoea disorders. It is caused by complete or partial obstructions of the upper airways. It causes shallow or paused breathing during sleep, episodes lasting for 10-20 seconds. A noticeable sign of OSA is snoring.

Symptoms
Loud snoring
Abrupt awakenings accompanied by gasping or choking
Morning headache
Difficulty in concentrating during the day
Depression/Irritability

Cause

• Decreased muscle tone of the muscles in the back of the throat, which relax too much, causing narrowing or closing of airway as one breathes in. This may last for a few seconds to even a minute, creating lack of oxygen during this period, and thus impaired breathing, which rouses the patient with transient shortness of breath.
• Medications like sedatives and muscle relaxants
• Tonsillitis
• Nasal congestion/blockage
• A micrognathic or retrognathic mandible

Treatment Modalities

• Behaviour modification
• Oral appliances like Mandibular advancement device, tongue trainers etc
• Therapies like CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)
• Surgeries, in some cases

Dr.Deepak, has received extensive trainings for diagnosing and treatment of OSA from several International programmes. TnSS is one of the few dental clinics, which is able to address and take care of the problem of OSA disorder.