Treat Mild To Moderate Sleep Apnea With An Oral Appliance

Many people don't view snoring as something to be concerned about

, unless our partner is disrupting our sleep with snoring. Frequent loud snoring may be a sign of something worse than a noisy, sleepless night - it may be a sign of sleep apnea, which is a common and potentially serious disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts as you sleep. Although sleep apnea is treatable, it often goes unrecognized. Visit your dentist today to find out more about how they can help treat your sleep apnea with oral appliances.

What is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening sleep disorder that is characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep. The term sleep apnea is derived from the Greek etymology meaning "without breath." Breathing pauses can last anywhere from several seconds to minutes, and happens as often as 30 times or more per hour. Ongoing disruptive breathing causes an imbalance between the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the bloodstream, as not enough carbon dioxide is exiting while not enough oxygen is entering the body.

By sensing this imbalance, the brain sends a message to the body, telling it to wake up to restart the breathing process. People with sleep apnea will partially wake up as they struggle to breathe, and loud snoring or choking sensations often accompanies this. Because people with sleep apnea do not always wake up completely during the episodes, they are often unaware they have a sleeping disorder, causing it to remain undiagnosed.

At-Home Treatments

Home treatment for obstructive sleep apnea includes lifestyle changes and changing some sleeping habits. Some studies have shown that losing weight reduces the number of times in an hour that you stop breathing or that the airflow to your lungs is reduced. Experts agree that weight loss should be part of managing your sleep apnea. If you are overweight and have sleep apnea, nutritional counseling may help. Be sure to also limit the use of alcohol and medicine. Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or taking certain medicines, especially sleeping pills or sedatives, before sleep may make your sleep apnea symptoms worse.

Additionally, make sure you get plenty of sleep each night. Sleep apnea episodes may be more frequent when you have not had enough sleep. The nicotine in tobacco relaxes the muscles that keep the airways open. If you don't smoke, those muscles are less likely to collapse at night and narrow the airways, so if you do smoke quit now.

Oral Appliance Therapy

An oral appliance is a device that is inserted into your mouth when you are sleeping to help you stop snoring. The American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine has recently identified oral appliances as an effective treatment for snoring and sleep apnea. An oral appliance is a device offered by your dentist that is fitted into your mouth to prevent snoring. It does so by preventing your jaw and tongue from dropping back into the throat while you are sleeping.

A durable device, provided by your dentist, oral appliances have multiple uses including snoring problems, bruxism (teeth grinding) and TMJ. The snore guard's unique inner lining is softened by heat during the fitting process and is custom fitted to your individual needs. It fits snuggly over your top teeth while you sleep and is designed to prevent your tongue from dropping towards the back of your throat, which helps to keep your airway open, effectively relieving the main cause of snoring.

If you snore or someone you know snores, visit your dentist in San Jose, CA today for further consultation.

by: Gen Wright

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