Sleep Apnea
Does your partner complain about your snoring? Do you wake up feeling like you never really rested, even though you were in bed for at least 8 hours? If that sounds familiar, you may be one of the 50-70 million Americans who struggle with sleep apnea. This is a common yet dangerous condition that causes your breathing to stop and restart several times as you sleep overnight, preventing you from getting both the oxygen and the sleep you need to stay healthy and happy. In the past, the only available sleep apnea treatment was a cumbersome and noisy machine that still made it hard for people to sleep. Today, however, your Windermere, FL dentist at Inspired Dental can provide a simple, comfortable, quiet, customized sleep apnea dental appliance that keeps your airway open during the night so you can finally get the deep, restorative sleep you need.
Sleep Apnea Explained
Although researchers recognize two main types of sleep apnea, a third type is a complicated mixture of those two:
1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)
A diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea means that your tongue, tonsils, or the physical characteristics of your upper airway create a blockage that stops air from flowing freely. Some risk factors for OSA include obesity, adenoids, a thick neck, or large tonsils.
2. Central Sleep Apnea
In this case, signals from your brain that tell you to keep breathing as you sleep do not communicate properly to your chest and airway muscles. Some risk factors for central sleep apnea include a variety of health conditions, hormone imbalances, aging, and opioid use.
3. Complex Sleep Apnea
This type of sleep apnea can develop when patients receive obstructive sleep apnea treatment with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. This can trigger a case of central sleep apnea in some people.
Statistics indicate that sleep apnea is more common in men than women, but that anyone of any age or gender could get it. In addition to the risk factors listed for each of the three types of sleep apnea, research suggests that this condition may also have a genetic component. In other words, it might run in the family.
Sleep Apnea Symptoms in Adults and Children
Again, sleep apnea can happen to anyone of any age. Some of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea in adults include:
- Waking up several times in the night, feeling out of breath
- Your partner tells you you’re snoring or breathing inconsistently
- Waking up with a choking feeling
- Waking up in the morning after a full night in bed, but still feeling tired and unrested
- A tired, grumpy partner who also isn’t sleeping properly
Some secondary symptoms that you’re not sleeping well or getting enough air while you sleep include:
- Feelings of restlessness during the night
- Waking up with a headache
- Lower libido
- Night sweats
- An increase in depression and anxiety symptoms
Even children can be diagnosed with sleep apnea. Children can manifest similar symptoms to those in adults, with some differences:
- A child who snores or has breathing pauses and irregularities
- Restlessness in sleep
- Gasping, choking, snorting, or coughing overnight
- Breathing through the mouth
- Nighttime sweating
- Wetting the bed
Some daytime symptoms of children who have sleep apnea include:
- Complaining of morning headaches
- Breathing through the mouth
- Nasal stuffiness
- Difficulties paying attention in school
- Learning difficulties due to drowsiness
- Behavioral issues like inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and anger
- Lack of appetite
- Falls asleep when they should be awake, such as at school, or during short bus or car rides
For children, good sleep isn’t just important for their physical health, but their entire developmental, educational, and mental outlook. If your child is experiencing any of these symptoms.
Dental Clues That Indicate You May Have Sleep Apnea
In addition to all of those symptoms of sleep apnea, your dentist at Inspired Dental can also spot additional signs in your mouth structure, teeth, and jaw muscles. For example, sleep apnea seems to be more common in patients with narrow jaws, high palates, or unusually long tongues. All of these physical characteristics are more common in people who also experience unconscious overnight teeth grinding or “bruxism”. Bruxism is one way that the brain uses to wake sleep apnea sufferers up just enough to start breathing again. So, Dr. Puerto will often look for signs of excess wear on the enamel of opposing teeth. Scientists have also recently revealed that this connection between sleep apnea and bruxism also connects sleep apnea with TMJ jaw pain (temporomandibular joint disorder). So many of our patients with sleep apnea also report tight, stiff, inflamed jaw muscles that pop, click, or hurt when they chew, talk, or yawn.
The Dangers of Untreated Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea leads to a lack of oxygen because your airway becomes obstructed, or brain signals don’t trigger breathing muscles properly. So, your brain, in an effort to keep you alive, wakes you just enough to open your airway again so you can breathe. Although this will keep you alive, it will also interrupt your sleep cycle, often multiple times overnight. As a result, you never get the deep, restful, restorative sleep that your brain and body both need for optimal health. In fact, sleep apnea doesn’t just make you tired and groggy all day; it causes several dangerous health problems.
Here at Inspired Dental in Windermere, dentist Dr. Puerto has worked with many patients who struggled with the annoyance of sleep apnea, and she also became concerned about the dangerous health consequences they experienced. Regardless of which of the three types of sleep apnea a person has, the health risks of leaving it untreated can be severe:
- An increased risk of metabolic diseases like diabetes
- A higher risk of high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, and heart attacks
- A greater risk of strokes
- An increased risk of daytime drowsiness that can, in turn, cause a greater number of accidents, including motor vehicle, work, home, and personal accidents due to inattention.
- In children who lack good sleep, developmental, mood, and learning disorders are far more common.
Scientists have also established a correlation between sleep apnea and obesity, which causes a vicious cycle between conditions like diabetes, heart attacks, and sleep apnea itself. Obesity can lead to or worsen sleep apnea, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Furthermore, not getting enough sleep because apnea interrupts your breathing can also complicate all those health problems.
Sleep Apnea Treatment Options
Everyone who has sleep apnea should receive the appropriate treatment designed for their unique needs. These are some of the common routes of sleep apnea treatment available today:
Lifestyle changes
Lifestyle changes can help those with mild forms of sleep apnea:
- Since obesity is one of the common causes (but certainly not the only one) of sleep apnea, losing weight through nutrition and exercise can help reduce the severity of overnight breathing problems.
- Alcohol consumption and smoking are also known to worsen sleep apnea, so cutting back or quitting these altogether can help as well.
- Setting up your bed for comfortable side sleeping can also help. More people report snorting and snoring problems when sleeping on their backs, so getting a comfortable side-sleeping pillow that keeps your neck in a neutral position, and propping a pillow up behind you to keep you on your side may help.
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Machine Therapy
After diagnosing sleep apnea through a sleep study, your doctor may prescribe CPAP therapy to keep your airway open at night if you have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. This involves wearing a mask that blows a constant air stream into your airway while you sleep, keeping the airway open. It can be difficult to get used to the machine, and some people develop central sleep apnea from this treatment, which can cause complex sleep apnea.
Dental Appliances for Sleep Apnea Treatment in Windermere, FL
If you have been diagnosed with mild to moderate sleep apnea and want to try another solution before moving to a CPAP machine, schedule an appointment with Dr. Puerto here at Inspired Dental. We can create a custom mandibular advancement device (MAD) that fits your mouth after taking impressions of your teeth. A dental lab will then design this dental appliance that gently pulls your lower jaw forward as you wear it overnight. This prevents your throat and tongue muscles from narrowing and cutting off your air supply. The MAD appliance can also help relax your jaw muscles and prevent overnight bruxism (teeth grinding). This can reduce any TMJ jaw pain symptoms you have. Many of our patients who have used these dental appliances for sleep apnea report significantly improved sleep quality overnight, with more energy and alertness during the day.
See the Dentist Windermere Neighbors Trust for Sleep Apnea Treatment
In addition to providing the highest-quality dental care in Windermere, Dr. Puerto treats all of her patients like family. She cares deeply about your overall health as well as your dental health.
Good oral health can, after all, make a huge impact on overall physical well-being. We can also help promote healthier sleep through dental sleep apnea appliances. Schedule an appointment with us today for a better night’s sleep.
