For most of us, night time should be a time of rest. If you snore, you aren’t getting that deep sleep you need to wake up refreshed – and your household may not be getting any sleep either! Snoring can be an annoyance but also can be a warning sign of something more serious, such as Chronic Obstructive Sleep Apnea, a disorder characterized by abnormal pauses in breathing during sleep. Each pause in breathing, called an apnea, can last from seconds to minutes. In some cases an individual with sleep apnea may wake up several times during the night gasping for air but may not remember doing so once they fully wake up in the morning - often times these episodes are reported by a spouse or partner who witnessed the episodes. Without that much-needed deep sleep, the individual will often experience daytime drowsiness. Sleep apnea is usually diagnosed in a sleep clinic.
Medical Treatment
Treatment for mild-to-moderate sleep apnea may involve behavior therapy (avoiding alcohol and sedatives), medication which reduces blood PH and encourages respiration, or a CPAP machine (which keeps the airway open with positive air flow into the throat). Surgery may be indicated as a second line of treatment for those who reject or are not helped by CPAP treatment.
Dental Treatment
With a prescription** from a physician, your general dentist can fabricate an oral appliance (the prescription is needed because sleep apnea is a medical condition). The appliance, a custom-made mouth piece, shifts the lower jaw forward, opens the bite and opens the airway. This can be a successful treatment for mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep apnea.
**if the patient is only concerned about treatment for snoring, a dentist can be consulted without a prescription.
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