What is obstructive sleep apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes many short breathing interruptions as you sleep. It happens when your throat muscles relax to such a degree that they block your windpipe while you sleep. Often, an obstructive sleep apnea sufferer snores loudly, although snoring can happen without sleep apnea as well.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a dangerous condition. If untreated, it can raise your risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, stroke, and other potentially fatal conditions.
What are the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea?
Snoring is often the tell-tale sign of obstructive sleep apnea, but you’re also likely to have symptoms such as:
- Daytime drowsiness
- Dry throat when you wake up
- Restless sleep
- Startling awake feeling like you’re choking
- Headache when you wake up
If you suspect you have obstructive sleep apnea, it’s important to see a medical doctor as soon as possible. A physician who specializes in sleep medicine can perform advanced testing to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea.
After your diagnosis, your medical doctor may refer you to a dentist for treatment. Zam Dental uses the whole-body dentistry approach, and they regularly work with medical doctors to get patients the obstructive sleep apnea therapy they need.
How do dentists treat obstructive sleep apnea?
Zam Dental uses cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT), which provides enhanced imaging that’s very useful in diagnosing sleep disorders. CBCT scans are also very helpful in double-checking an obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis from a medical doctor. The advanced imaging is also very helpful in designing oral appliances for obstructive sleep apnea.
An oral appliance is a small device, made for your mouth’s particular measurements, that repositions your jaw or holds your tongue in a better position during sleep. This keeps tissues from blocking your windpipe as you sleep, which relieves sleep apnea symptoms like snoring.
Oral appliances can also help those who suffer from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction and potentially for other conditions affecting your head or neck structures.
Find out how oral appliance therapy can stop your snoring and end your obstructive sleep apnea symptoms now. Call Zam Dental or use the online appointment maker to get started now.
