Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly starts and stops during sleep. It occurs when the throat muscles intermittently relax and block the upper airway during sleep.
Some symptoms of Sleep Apnea are snoring, daytime sleepiness, headaches, irritability, anxiety, depression, memory loss, gastric reflux, and high blood pressure. Patients with sleep apnea can stop breathing up to hundreds of times per evening, for time periods ranging from 5 seconds to over a minute in length. While breathing is stopped, and oxygen is restricted to the heart and brain, the increased heart rate and stimulation causes the body to momentarily wake. This disruption in sleep pattern is what causes excessive daytime drowsiness and exhaustion in patients. If left untreated, the constant strain placed on the heart and brain, coupled with poor sleep quality and duration can result in serious and dangerous complications to your overall health, including heart disease, stroke, mood disorders, and accidents related to daytime drowsiness.
For some patients experiencing obstructive sleep apnea, your sleep physician may recommend an oral sleep appliance to help alleviate the underlying symptoms and complications associated with it.
A sleep appliance is a device that is worn in the mouth overnight, designed to position the lower jaw slightly forward , thereby bringing the tongue forward, and expanding the throat in a way that keeps your airway open to facilitate unobstructed breathing while you are asleep. There are several designs and styles of sleep appliances available to assist with treatment, all capable of being custom fitted to the contours of your mouth. This device may be more comfortable to wear than a traditional CPAP and can be a great item to have if you travel frequently.
At Perry Dental we screen all of our patients, including children, for sleep apnea. There are many dental signs of sleep apnea that we can detect before sleep apnea becomes a bigger issue. If you are concerned about sleep apnea for yourself or your partner please talk to one of the Perry Dental doctors today.
