Sleep Apnea Treatment Center
Your quality of life can be affected greatly by the quality of the sleep you get. Fortunately, help for those suffering with a lack of sleep is easily accessible from a sleep clinic. You can usually get treatment without the need for medications.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the term for when the airway collapses, either partially or fully, while someone is asleep. This limits or blocks the ability for air to flow into the lungs. As the person continues to try and breathe, the airway constricts, no matter how hard they try to keep breathing. Once this happens, the person will change the position of their tongue and jaw so that the airway is now open. This usually is followed by the person gasping or snorting. Finally, the person affected will begin this process again.
The effects of this are harmful. It not only makes it harder to breathe, which can be dangerous, but it also leads to less restful sleep. When the airways constrict, the brain “awakens” the person so that they are sleeping more lightly. Spurts of gasping and snorting can repeat hundreds of times throughout the night, disrupting sleep all around.
How can a dentist help with Sleep Apnea?
Oral appliances are simple in how they function as sleep treatments. An oral appliance keeps the airway open by keeping the lower jaw and tongue from falling back and blocking the airway. This is similar to the “head tilt, chin lift” procedure taught in CPR classes. While there are many appliances on the market, they all basically do the same thing—keep the airway open by preventing the jaw from falling back.
Oral appliances are made by dentists because they secure to your teeth. They're made out of a variety of materials—most being adjustable. The sleep treatment appliance being adjustable is important so that an effective jaw position can be found. In our offices patients are routinely scheduled for follow up sleep studies during which the appliance can be adjusted by the sleep technician to ensure that the appliance is working as well as possible.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS