Dr. Nicole Chenet, DDS, treats multiple forms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea at the Sleep Apnea Dental Center of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/24/2014 --Dr. Nicole Chenet, DDS, of the Sleep Apnea Dental Center of Pittsburgh, offers a variety of dental-based treatments for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Dr. Chenet’s practice specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of sleep apnea symptoms and disorders, helping patients achieve a safer, sounder and healthier sleep schedule by minimizing traumatic apnea effects. OSA sufferers will experience a variety of symptoms while sleeping that they may not realize are occurring if a partner or doctor is not there to survey their sleeping habits and report them. Diagnosis of OSA begins with a consultation that includes both a discussion of the patient’s sleep history and a physical exam. This initial screening will help determine if a more detailed assessment is prudent. Dr. Chenet may decide to conduct an overnight sleep study, or polysomnogram, which will be done at a sleep center. A polysomnogram records brainwaves, pulse and respiratory behavior, air movement, eye movement and blood oxygen levels throughout a full night. More assays, like the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), may be administered to help determine the extent of daytime sleepiness and identify any other sleep disorders that may also be present. Sleep apnea, though easily diagnosed, is a severe condition that is connected with various other critical ailments and must be treated as swiftly as possible.

An apnea event is defined as a full cessation of breathing for 10 or more seconds. A person can be diagnosed as having sleep apnea if he or she experiences 30 or more episodes of apnea over the course of a 7 hour sleep period. Hypopnea occurs when an obstruction arises somewhere in a patient’s respiratory airflow, causing decreased oxygen intake and insufficient oxygen levels in the blood, also called oxygen desaturation. Some patients will be diagnosed with Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS), a condition more serious than benign snoring but less so than true OSA. Those with UARS may experience many OSA symptoms but remit insufficient evidence during testing to warrant a full OSA diagnosis and treatment.

About Dr. Chenet
Dr. Chenet identifies the severity of a patient’s condition by looking at their percentage of oxygen desaturation combined with the frequency of complete or partial ventilation stoppages. Mild OSA is the result of 5-20 stoppages per hour. Those experiencing between 20 and 40 events per hour have moderate OSA. Severe OSA sufferers experience 40 or more stoppage events per hour. This basic formula leads to more specific diagnoses when combined with information on lowest oxygen levels noted and length of apnea episodes during the sleep test. Factors that lead to increased likelihood of OSA diagnosis include being overweight, nasal congestion or obstruction including sinus problems or allergies, enlarged tonsils or adenoids that crowd the throat, a larger tongue or smaller jaw, family medical history conditions, alcohol consumption, TMJ and jaw pain, bruxism, lung disease, atrial fibrillation, heart disease, scoliosis or muscular deficiency, sedatives and medication, hypothyroidism or other endocrine (hormonal) disorders, aging, malformed teeth, jaw or palate, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), menopause, Progesterone or Estrogen deficiencies and smoking.

To learn more about how Dr. Chenet treats and diagnoses OSA, visit the Sleep Apnea Dental Center of Pittsburgh online at www.sadcpgh.com