Dental Appliances Can Help You With Sleep Apnea

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a condition wherein someone experiences irregular pauses in breathing while they sleep. There are three main types of sleep apnea, which are:

• Obstructive sleep apnea 
• Central sleep apnea 
• Complex sleep apnea syndrome

What causes sleep apnea?

When you drift into 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 the airway is blocked, the flow of oxygen ceases, and as a result your brain forces you to wake up slightly to consciously resume breathing. These episodes may happen hundreds of times 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.

What sleep apnea devices or oral appliances can help?

Dental appliances help with sleep apnea by setting your jaw forward while you sleep, therefore keeping the airway open. Sleep apnea devices also include other benefits, such as:

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

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 role 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 well-being.

More questions about our dental appliances for apnea and other sleep disorders? Contact our Victoria dentists today.