As a member of the National Sleep Foundation and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, Dr. Hinckley is one of the very few dentists in the Spokane area trained to treat patients for sleep apnea and snoring.  Research shows that 74% of American adults experience sleeping problems a few nights a week and more.  The quality of your sleep affects your daily activities and has a huge impact on the overall quality of your life.  Left untreated, snoring and sleep apnea may cause...

• Chronic Sleepiness
• Strokes
• Heart Attacks
• Heartburn
• Depression
• Morning Headaches
• High Blood Pressure
• Impotence

 What is Sleep Apnea?

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (O.S.A.)  is a common sleep disorder characterized by apneas, snoring, and daytime sleepiness.  Apneas are recurrent pauses or shallow breathing often followed by gasp arousals from sleep.  Breathing stops during sleep in intervals that may last from 10 seconds to a minute or longer as a result of a collapsed airway.  Properly trained dentists, such as Dr. Hinckley can play an important role in the team approach for treatment of sleep breathing disorders.  Together with physicians, and sleep therapists, Dr. Hinckley can be of great help by providing oral  appliance therapy (O.A.T.)  for the treatment of snoring and (O.S.A.)