Of the 84 types of sleep disorders two of these account for the vast majority of problems in getting a good night sleep. Insomnia is number one and sleep apnea is number two. Sleep apnea, though number two in prevalence, has the added importance of being life threatening. Once diagnosed it is treatable with dental devices or other treatments.

Dr. Chase uses a variety of custom airway orthotics depending on the type and severity of the problem. They are comfortable, easy to use and very effective. In some ways it is like a sports mouth guard, but not as thick.

“I am rested now, don’t have to wear that CPAP, and just feel jazzier”  Jeff

Often a cause of a persons death will be listed that is really a side affect of sleep apnea. Often the person and doctors will not even know the person had a problem. “This is not a condition that kill you acutely. It is a condition that erodes your health over time,” Dr. Michael J. Twery, director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research states.

In the United Stated 12 to 18 million people have moderate to severe sleep apnea. For these people the consequences are much more than running tired or having a lack of energy for normal activities. Some of the more serious effects can include hypertension, stomach reflux, heart attacks, frequent sicknesses, diabetes, impotence, depression, and weight gain. The damage of fragmented sleep carries over to functional problems such as falling asleep at the wheel, irritability, loss of concentration, impaired school or work performance, marital problems, and fatigue.

For people with sleep apnea, their upper airway becomes narrowed or blocked periodically during sleep. That keeps air from reaching the lungs. Breathing then stops for seconds to over a minute until the muscles pull hard enough to overcome the obstruction, often in the throat, and you breath. This stressful event can happen hundreds of times during the night. You do not wake up but instead it can move a person from a deep sleep to a light sleep, when breathing resumes. So a person may have enough hours in the bed yet not have recovery sleep and suffer during the day physically and the body will slowly erode in health physiologically.
Dr. Chase takes this health problem very seriously. “Sleep disordered breathing in its various manifestations is arguable the number one health problem in the U.S. and probably throughout the world.” States William C. Dement the father of sleep medicine. It is amazing that such a seemingly simple device can make such a positive impact on all aspects of one’s life.

Even more critical is the development of skeletal problems during childhood that lead to sleep problems as an adult. The symptoms are somewhat different but the effects are just as damaging. Impaired growth, Behavioral dysfunction, headaches, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a variety of neurocognitive dysfunctions develop with each year the child grows and the jaw loses its growth potential due to mouth breathing and other respiratory problems. There is much more to this field.