While there are many sleep disorder clinics around, we work with only a select small group of them that we feel have the facilities that are as much like home as possible. Most sleep centers will have very comfortable beds, your own bathroom, and a TV to help you relax before you head to bed.
Once you arrive and are shown your room, the sleep technician will explain the process. When you are ready for bed, she will attach a few sensors to your head, chest, and fingers. These sleep sensors allow us to measure the quality of your sleep and allow the sleep physicians to properly diagnose your sleep disorder as obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, both, or another sleep disturbances such as restless leg syndrome.
As soon as the sleep technician has you connected to the monitoring system, you are allowed to fall asleep. During your sleep, they are constantly monitoring your sleep cycles, body temperature, sleeping position, snoring levels, blood oxygen levels, etc. They also make notes of noises, movements, twitches, etc. while you are sleeping. Finally, some sleep labs will record you using an infrared camera, so that if your sleep physician has any questions about the result, she can review the video.
This video was published by one of the CPAP companies. While they attempt to sway you towards using a CPAP machine versus using an oral appliance, the video has informative summary of what to expect during your sleep center test.
Recently, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued its final coverage decision for ambulatory sleep testing*. The policy now states that home sleep tests can be used by a Medicare physician to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. This is a wonderful news for patients! While it doesn’t mean that all insurance carriers will follow Medicare’s decision immediately, it does indicate that the industry is moving in that direction.
Once approved by your insurance company, a home sleep test unit will allow you to perform your sleep test in the comfort of your own home and, even more important, in your own bed! We can check your insurance plan to see if they will allow a home sleep test - just give us a call to verify.
Below is an introductory video about one of the leading home sleep test units called the Watch-PAT 200. I’ve used this myself and can tell you it is easy and comfortable to use, and very accurate. You can see another video on our home sleep test page where we show the system that we use at Millbrae Dental Care.
Unfortunately, no; however your medical/health insurance plan will most likely cover the cost, and we may be able to assist you with the billing. If you don’t have medical/health insurance, or a dental plan, there are many sleep clinics and centers that offer low-cost sleep tests.
Once you have completed a sleep test (PSG), and one of our sleep physicians has confirmed that you have sleep apnea, we can discuss your treatment options.
Treat Sleep Apnea & Snoring Without a CPAP Machine
Have Sleep Apnea questions? Schedule an appointment with Dr. TsaiOr you can always email or call us: (650)-583-5880
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