Sleep Apnea and How Dental Devices Can Help You Get Better Sleep

Sleep apnea is an issue plaguing hundreds of thousands of Americans. This is a sleep condition wherein the airways become blocked or collapses and stops you from breathing for about 20 to 30 seconds at a time. This repeats several times during your sleep and leaves your sleep interrupted.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

One of the most commonly known forms of sleep apnea is called obstructive sleep apnea. This form of sleep apnea occurs when the throat muscles that support the soft palate relax. This narrows or even closes a person’s airway as they inhale. When that happens, the person’s survival reflex wakes them up to open the airway. This repeated process causes physical issues. Let’s take a look at what those issues are and how using dental devices can help address these issues.

• You are always tired

Sleep apnea leads to continuously interrupted sleep, which could put you on edge and make you feel cranky and eternally tired. When you don’t have enough sleep, you will tend to constantly feel tired. This could further lead to a lack of focus and reduced productivity, most likely affecting your work performance.

• You are restless while sleeping

Another problem caused by sleep apnea is that you are restless when you sleep. This may include kicking and turning in your sleep, jerking, thrashing, snoring or simply waking up in the middle of the night. When you have trouble breathing at night, your sleep is likely to get severely affected.

Dental Devices and Sleep Apnea

Those suffering from mild or moderate obstructive sleep apnea can use dental appliances or oral mandibular advancement devices which advance the lower jaw forward and/or prevent the tongue from blocking the throat. These devices ensure the airway is open during sleep, leading to uninterrupted sleep. Dentists at The Laurel are highly skilled experts in treating people with sleep apnea. You can set an appointment to find the oral appliance that can best help you sleep better.

Some of the advantages of oral devices include a reduction in snoring and other improvements in symptoms of sleep apnea. Also, they are far more effective than CPAP as they can be carried around during your travels. 

While sleep apnea is considered to be a dangerous condition with horrible consequences, it is still treatable with the right treatment plan. 

Visiting your dentist at Montpelier Family Dentistry will ensure you get the right tools to address the condition and enable you to experience a more relaxed sleep routine. Call us at (301) 604-0025 to schedule an appointment.