Sleep Apnea: Symptoms and Solutions

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a serious condition that many people are unaware they even suffer from. Sleep apnea is a condition where people essentially stop breathing multiple times throughout the night as they sleep. Obviously you need to be able to breathe to live, so anytime you actually stop breathing for any length of time is a very serious health situation.

What are sleep apnea symptoms? 

The cause of sleep apnea is the tongue closing off the airway, preventing normal breathing.  A hallmark sign that someone has sleep apnea is excessive loud snoring. Other symptoms you should look out for include not getting a restful sleep and being tired throughout the day, a loss of concentration, increased irritability, dry mouth, and teeth grinding. You'll know you've been grinding your teeth in your sleep when you wake up and your jaw aches, and there are also physical signs that I or any of the rest of the staff at Castle Rock Family Dental can make you aware of.

Can sleep apnea cause other problems?

In addition to not breathing correctly, other very serious side effects of sleep apnea can include high blood pressure, a higher risk of developing diabetes, and a greater risk for stroke. Like I said, sleep apnea is a very serious condition to look out for. 

Sleep apnea treatments

Doesn't sound good does it? You're probably wondering at this point what if anything can be done to treat sleep apnea. Well, sleep apnea is most often treated with a device called a CPAP, that stands for Constant Positive Airway Pressure. A CPAP is a device that go over the head and into the nostrils. This can be uncomfortable for patients as they are connected to tubing that supplies air and moisture and can be hard to adapt to.

Instead of trying to get air past the tongue, an alternative is to prevent the tongue from blocking the airway with a Mandibular Advancement Splint. This is the method I recommend to many of my patients. It is comprised of two components that are similar to a typical night guard. By helping the patient bring their lower jaw forward, this keeps the tongue forward and prevents it from slipping back and closing off the airway. This ensures they're able to breathe! The upper part of the device works to keep the jaw from sliding too far back, ensuring the patient's airway remains unobstructed throughout the night.

A Mandibular Advancement Splint also prevents snoring and is a far more comfortable device for the patient to wear. If you have sleep apnea, this means you you're not going to have to be hooked up to a series of wires and hoses as you would if you used a CPAP device. A Mandibular Advancement Splint is also more functionally portable, meaning you should not have any troubles packing it into your suitcase and traveling with it!

Sleep apnea is clearly something that can negatively impact your health.  If you know you have sleep apnea, or even suspect your symptoms are that of sleep apnea, contact me at Castle Rock Family Dental by visiting our website or calling to get more information about the treatment options we have available.