Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. You may have sleep apnea if you snore loudly, and you feel tired even after a full night’s sleep. Some people avoid going to see their doctor because they don’t want to use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine every night. There’s good news! A CPAP machine is not the only treatment for sleep apnea. A dentist can also fabricate a special appliance that reposition your lower jaw to open the airway at night, allowing you to breath normally and wake up feeling well rested.
As we age, life throws most of us some curve balls. Don’t avoid dealing with issues like dry mouth, brushing issues and sleep apnea. Deal with them directly, and you can ensure your oral health and physical wellbeing are the best they can be.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Does your spouse snore loudly at night? Have you ever woken up and discovered your spouse has stopped breathing for a moment? Chances are, your spouse has obstructive sleep apnea. It’s a very common and potentially life-threatening medical disorder that prevents airflow during sleep. More than 18 million Americans have sleep apnea, and many are not receiving treatment.
When airflow is constricted, less oxygen is delivered to a person’s vital organs, including the heart and brain. As a result, people with obstructive sleep apnea suffer from:
- unintentionally falling asleep during the day
- general daytime sleepiness
- unrefreshed sleep
- fatigue
- insomnia
- waking from sleep with a choking sound
- gasping for breath
- loud snoring
Obstructive sleep apnea can have deadly consequences. One of my former patients died in a truck accident caused by obstructive sleep apnea. He worked as a truck driver for many years, and he had, in fact, recently proposed to marry my former office manager. He was mentoring a new trucker driver who suffered from obstructive sleep apnea. This new truck driver fell asleep while driving and they both died in the truck crash.
Obstructive sleep apnea can affect anyone’s life, and it’s a disorder that should be taken seriously.
One of the most common tests to determine if a person suffers from this disorder is an overnight sleep study, a test that can be conduced by sleep centers in Crescent City, Gold Beach and Brookings. If you need assistance in contacting one of these sleep centers, please call us.
Once diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, the common treatment is the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) appliance. Some patients experience discomfort using a CPAP appliance, due to the continuous airway pressure in the nose. Brooking Dental Arts can provide an alternative treatment option. We can make patients oral appliances that reduce the constriction of the airway, allowing patients to breath normally during sleep without the aid of a CPAP appliance. This treatment is an effective alternative option for many cases of obstructive sleep apnea. Please contact us for more information, and to learn if this treatment could be right for you.