Dental Appliances Can Help You With Sleep Apnea

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea results in the abnormal pausing of breath (apneas) or shallow breathing when you are sleeping. These apneas can occur due to a physical blockage of airflow, a lack of respiratory effort, or both.

There are three types of sleep apnea:

• Central sleep apnea 
• Obstructive sleep apnea 
• Complex sleep apnea syndrome (occurs when someone has obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea)

What causes sleep apnea?

When you drift into a deep sleep, your throat tissues, soft palate and tongue relax. For those with sleep apnea, the throat tissues and soft palate over-relax, causing them to collapse into the back of your throat, blocking the airway.

When your airway is blocked by the soft palate or tongue it cuts off the flow of oxygen and as a self-preservation method, your brain will wake itself up slightly so you can resume breathing. These episodes can happen hundreds of times in a night, seriously disrupting your sleep.

How are snoring and sleep apnea diagnosed?

Symptoms of sleep apnea include heavy snoring, headaches and migraines upon waking, restless sleep, excessive daytime fatigue, problems focusing, irritability, depression and TMJ symptoms.

Though loud snoring is a notorious symptom and may indicate a potentially serious problem, not everyone who has sleep apnea will snore. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should visit a medical professional so you can receive a proper diagnosis.

Once your issue has been diagnosed by a medical professional, your dentists can help you get a better night’s rest with a number of treatment options. Our dental team at Kennedy East Dental will complete a full examination of your teeth, tongue, airway and jaw, and potentially take an x-ray of your airway, to determine the right appliance for your needs.

What sleep apnea devices or oral appliances can help?

Dental appliances can help you sleep better by positioning your lower jaw further forward. This will ultimately result in pulling your tongue away from the throat and the soft palate to open your airway. These dental appliances are:

• They are portable
• Convenient for travel
• Comfortable to wear
• Easy to care for
• Quiet and not disruptive to any bed partners (unlike some sleep apnea machines)
• Easy to insert and remove

Why is it important to treat sleep apnea?

If you have sleep apnea, you will be unable to fall into a deep, restorative sleep that recharges your brain and body. This can play a roll in many medical disorders and diseases, and reduce your life’s quality and longevity.

Complications can include a wide range of conditions from metabolic syndrome and high blood sugar, which is linked to an increased risk of heart disease. You may also experience heart problems, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes and resistance to insulin. Because of your daytime fatigue, you may be at an increased risk of workplace or motor vehicle accidents.

By treating sleep apnea, your dentist can help you improve and protect your overall health and wellbeing.

If you would like to learn more about the treatment options available for sleep apnea at Kennedy East Dental, contact us today.