Sleep Apnea and Severe Asthma go Hand in Hand

Categories: Sleep Disorders
sleep apnea and asthma

Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley CA

Are you one of the millions of Americans suffering from sleep apnea? If you have sleep apnea and also suffer from asthma, your sleep breathing disorder actually could be used to predict future asthma attacks.

Scientists at the University of Newcastle in Australia just released a study in December identifying specific treatable traits in patients with severe asthma that actually can help indicate when future asthma attacks are going to happen. The results of an extensive national study in Australia that entailed collaboration between scientists from across the continent found 10 traits can predict future asthma attacks—one of which was obstructive sleep apnea.

The study determined that patients suffering from severe asthma were more likely to exhibit pulmonary and extrapulmonary threats that were treatable. One of the strongest treats that proved evidentiary of an exacerbated case of asthma was sleep apnea.

This provides yet another reason why it is so important to seek treatment from your Scotts Valley sleep apnea doctors at Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry if you or someone you love suffers from a sleep breathing disorder. The American Sleep Apnea Association estimates that approximately 22 million people in the United States have this sleep breathing disorder, which occurs when the airway becomes partially or completely blocked during sleep. A patient with severe sleep apnea is likely to experience these blockages hundreds of times per night—leading to chronic daytime fatigue, irritability, difficulty focusing, and poor performance at work or school. Untreated sleep apnea magnifies your risk of many chronic and even life-threatening ailments, including hypertension, cardiac disease, depression, cognitive decline, and many types of cancer.

Sleep Apnea Specialists in Los Gatos

Sleep apnea dentistry is a specialization of dental science. Practitioners of this discipline have gone through special additional training to identify cases of a sleep breathing disorder and provide relief treating the root cause of the problem—whatever is impeding the airway. At Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry, our sleep apnea doctors have completed post-graduate education that goes above and beyond what is taught during dental school to allow them to diagnose and treat sleep apnea. Performing an airway evaluation—a quick, comfortable, and convenient process can make this diagnosis.

From there, we can provide relief, ideally through a course of oral appliance therapy. This entails fabricating an oral appliance that is made of top-quality materials and is customized from impressions of the mouth, making for a snug, secure, and comfortable fit. Treatment of sleep apnea also can help manage any conditions that may have developed as a consequence of this sleep breathing disorder. For asthma patients, that could mean a decrease in both the frequency and the severity of attacks.

Are you unsure if you or someone you love has sleep apnea? Loud snoring is considered the major warning sign. Schedule your airway evaluation today by contacting the office of Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry at (831) 438-4411 to schedule a sleep apnea evaluation.

We welcome patients of the Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and Scotts Valley areas of California.