How are you sleeping at night? Do you wake up often with no clear explanation why? Do you snore heavily? Do you often sit straight up in bed, sputtering and coughing yourself out of sleep? These are all potential signs of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a serious health condition that can be diagnosed and treated by your Red Bank family dentist.
Sleep Apnea Treatment in Red Bank
Dentists specialize in teeth, of course, but they also deal with sleep, believe it or not. If you have been struggling to get a good night’s sleep and are always fatigued or your partner often complains about your snoring and restlessness during the night, it’s time to ask whether you might be a good candidate for sleep apnea treatment.
While the condition is common, every patient is different and treatment for your OSA will vary depending on the severity of your sleep apnea. Some people will need a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, which uses a hose connected to a mask to deliver constant, steady air pressure to help someone breathe while they sleep.
A more user-friendly treatment option, however, is a customized oral appliance, similar to a nightguard. This is the most desired sleep apnea treatment for patients who want to restore normal breathing patterns without a lot of equipment. The appliance is made to fit over both the upper and lower teeth, realigning the position of the jaw and tongue to keep the airway open.
Side Effects of Sleep Apnea
Sleep is critical to good health and sleep-disordered breathing can be a potentially life-threatening condition that causes a person to stop breathing while asleep. Sleep apnea is caused by an obstruction of the airway. When the body relaxes during sleep and the soft tissues in your throat and nasal passages relax, they may block your airway and restrict breathing.
The result is heavy snoring and interrupted sleep, which can lead to excessive fatigue and sleepiness during the day. Sleep is tied to so much of our body’s well-being and serious health problems can develop from untreated OSA, including depression, anxiety, headaches, and high blood pressure. Your body’s defenses are weakened without proper rest, making you far more susceptible to illness and infection.
But the problems don’t stop there. Heart attack, stroke, decreased sex drives, headaches, difficulty concentrating, unexplained weight gain, frequent heartburn, and more are all potential side effects. Unfortunately, many of the problems that come from undiagnosed sleep apnea are often misdiagnosed by primary care physicians or specialists as some other condition when, really, the problem is disrupted sleep all along.
Get Help for Sleep Apnea Near Me
If you have any sort of sleep disturbances, snore heavily, or wake up a lot at night, don’t hesitate to ask your Red Bank family dentist about whether they think you have sleep apnea. The treatment for this serious condition is so simple – soon you can be on track to night after night of quality, restorative sleep. You deserve it.
Schedule an appointment with Dr. Carole Sherrod Jewell and her team at Red Bank Dentistry in Red Bank, NJ, to learn more.
