How do you feel in the morning? Do you wake up full of energy and ready to take on the day, or do you feel like you never went to bed in the first place? Do you have a bed partner who constantly complains about your loud snoring? If so, these are the telltale signs of a very dangerous disorder called sleep apnea. Sleep apnea, in addition to robbing you of sleep, can also affect your long term health in ways that can eventually prove fatal. Fortunately, the solution to this issue can be found right in a dentist’s office. Today, we’re going to discuss what this condition is, and how your dentist can help you get effective sleep apnea treatment.
What is Sleep Apnea?
According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, it’s estimated that nearly 22 million Americans currently suffer from sleep apnea. The most common symptom is loud, chronic snoring that is broken up by short pauses. These pauses actually mean that a person’s breathing has been completely cut off, so in response, the body panics and partially wakes up in order to restore airflow. This can happen up to 100 times every hour. This blockage is typically caused by the soft tissues in the mouth and throat relaxing into the airway.
In addition to preventing a person from getting the deep, restful sleep they need, it can also raise the blood pressure to dangerous levels, which is one of the leading risk factors in a wide variety of potentially deadly conditions.
Even though this condition is very serious and often life threatening, there are a number of treatments a person can get to safeguard both their sleep and their health.
How a Dentist Can Help
In the past, there were only two ways to treat sleep apnea: a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, and surgery. The most commonly used, CPAP therapy, involves a patient wearing a facemask connected to an air pump that forces oxygen into the throat in order to keep the airway open. As you can imagine, many patients find this extremely uncomfortable, and thankfully, dentists are now able to offer a viable third option: oral appliance therapy.
With oral appliance therapy, all a patient needs to do is wear a small, custom-made mouthpiece to bed each night. It will be designed to fit comfortably over their teeth, and it works by slightly shifting the jaw forward. This prevents the tissues in the mouth and throat from obstructing the airway, and it can even lessen snoring as well.
In order to get oral appliance therapy, you should discuss your sleeping problems with either your doctor or a sleep dentist in your area. They will then refer you to a sleep doctor who can perform a sleep study, and if you do indeed have sleep apnea, you can then consult the sleep dentist about oral appliance therapy. From there, they can provide you with your own mouthguard.
Oral appliance therapy has helped millions of Americans get the sleep they need without painful surgery or an invasive CPAP machine. If you currently can’t seem to get enough sleep, please seek out treatment today by talking to either your primary care physician or a qualified sleep dentist in your area. With their help, you’ll finally be able to rest easy at night.
About the Author
Dr. Ray Voller is a family, restorative, and sleep dentist based in Kittanning, PA. He treats hundreds of patients each year for sleep apnea with custom-made oral appliances, and he just loves how they can completely improve people’s lives and health in every way. To learn more about everything you’ve just read, Dr. Voller can be reached through his website or by phone at (724) 543-4948.