Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Your sleep impacts every aspect of your health and daily life. Sleeping well helps you look, feel and perform your best. But a sleep problem can be harmful to your health and well-being. One of the most common sleep problems is obstructive sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a chronic condition that occurs when your muscles relax during sleep, allowing soft tissue to collapse and block the airway. As a result, repeated breathing pauses occur, which often reduce your oxygen levels. These breathing pauses are followed by brief awakenings that disturb your sleep.
Nearly 54 million adults in the U.S. have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which can cause them to stop breathing hundreds of times a night for anywhere from a few seconds to more than a minute.
Common signs of sleep apnea include snoring, gasping or choking sounds during sleep. Like snoring, sleep apnea is more common in men, but it can occur in women too, especially during and after menopause. Having excess body weight, a narrow airway or misaligned jaw all increase the risk of sleep apnea.
Your sleep doctor will discuss treatment options with you. These options may include: continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, oral appliance therapy and surgery.
- CPAP therapy involves wearing a face mask connected by tubing to a constantly running machine.
- Oral appliance therapy uses a mouth guard-like device – worn only during sleep – to maintain an open, unobstructed airway.
- Surgical options include a variety of procedures. All have varying side effects and rates of success.
Research shows that oral appliance therapy is an effective treatment option for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. An oral appliance is worn in the mouth only while you sleep and fits like a sports mouth guard or an orthodontic retainer. Oral appliances support your jaw in a forward position to help maintain an open upper airway.
Many patients consider a sleep apnea appliance to be more comfortable to wear than a CPAP mask. Oral appliances are quiet, portable and easy to care for. (1)
If you and your doctor decide that oral appliance therapy is the best treatment option for you, we would be happy to help you receive a custom-made sleep apnea appliance.
Recent studies have indicated that a common dental condition known as periodontal disease contributes to obstructive sleep apnea. Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection that affects the support of your teeth. It is estimated that approximately 47.2 percent of the adult U.S. population is infected with periodontal disease.(2)
(1) https://www.aadsm.org/obstructive_sleep_apnea.php
(2) CDA Journal, November 2018
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