Sleep Apnea Treatment
East Dundee, IL
 A good night's sleep is crucial for your well-being. If you don't get sufficient sleep, you will likely wake up tired, sleepy, and unmotivated to face a new day.
Sleep apnea is one of the conditions that significantly affect your sleep. It affects millions of Americans and can be extremely disruptive. Our team at Neu Family Dental can help you manage sleep apnea.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a medical condition that disrupts your breathing when sleeping or restricts it. You will have pauses in your sleep that last between a few seconds to over a minute.
Breathing is essential at all times, and lack of it can prevent the supply of oxygen to your brain and body. If this continues for a long time, it can cause brain damage.
Thankfully, this condition can be reversed once sleep apnea is treated. This might not be the case in people who are overweight or older, as sleep apnea is more prevalent. Brain damage is also rampant among these groups of people.
Everyone is at risk of sleep apnea, but its severity varies depending on an individual's underlying health conditions.
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
There are many causes of sleep apnea. Anybody can have this problem; however, certain factors increase the risk of developing sleep apnea. Some of them include the following.
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Gender - The gender of a person influences their risk of sleep apnea. Having said that, men are more likely to develop this condition than women. After menopause, however, women are more likely to develop sleep apnea than men.
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Age - Even though this condition can affect a person of any age, it gets more prevalent as you grow older. Research shows that sleep apnea peaks when people get in their 50s and 60s. Once they are past this age, it significantly plateaus.
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Weight - Weight has a major influence on sleep apnea. People who are overweight are more likely to develop sleep apnea. People that are obese are even more likely to do so, as about 45% of them suffer from sleep apnea. We recommend that you work on reducing your weight to manage sleep apnea.
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Anatomical Differences - These are physical features that somehow contribute to sleep apnea. For instance, a smaller upper airway, a deviated septum, a high tongue position, a long soft palate, enlarged tonsils, and a receding jaw could cause sleep apnea. We recommend reconstructive procedures to help fix this problem.
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Smoking - People that smoke are more likely to develop sleep apnea than non-smokers. Smokers are three times more likely to have sleep apnea. If you are a smoker, you should consider quitting if you want to recover from sleep apnea. Smoking can also result in dental stains and gingivitis.
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Medical conditions and allergies - Certain medical conditions and allergies can also result in sleep apnea. They do so by contributing to nasal blockage and congestion. These factors increase the risk of sleep apnea. |
What Are the Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea has a wide range of symptoms. It is crucial to note that these symptoms vary from one person to another. Some symptoms are easier to notice than others.
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Tiredness in the Morning - One of the most common symptoms of sleep apnea is feeling exhausted and tired when waking up. You will have this feeling even after a full night's sleep. The conditions make you feel extremely tired as if you barely slept at night.
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Sleepy During the Day - Apart from feeling tired in the morning, you will feel sleepy during the day. This mostly happens when working, driving, or watching TV. It is very dangerous to feel drowsy when driving because it can cause an accident.
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Snoring - Perhaps, this is the most common symptom of sleep apnea. Almost everyone with sleep apnea snores at night. While it happens in most people, some patients might not snore at all. Either way, you need a comprehensive diagnosis to ascertain the situation.
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Constant Mood Changes - Lastly, you might experience anxiety and depression. Sleep apnea affects your brain and could cause memory loss, sadness, and trouble concentrating. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, contact us immediately. |
Is Sleep Apnea Dangerous?
Sleep apnea can be very dangerous. While some of its symptoms can be harmless, such as snoring, sleep apnea can cause brain damage. It can also cause drowsiness during the day, and when that happens while driving, it can cause catastrophic accidents.
Obstructive sleep apnea might also increase the risk of heart attacks and atrial fibrillation.
How to Treat Sleep Apnea
There are several treatment options for sleep apnea. These treatments vary depending on the severity of the condition and the type of sleep apnea you have.
Effective treatment can be as simple as training yourself to sleep in a better position to undergo reconstructive surgery. You can also visit our offices for oral appliance therapy. Our team can fit you with an oral appliance if you cannot tolerate the CPAP machine.
Apart from treating sleep apnea, this appliance can also fix other snoring problems.
Does Sleep Apnea Go Away?
There is no permanent cure for sleep apnea, meaning the condition cannot go away. However, there are many treatment options that can help reduce the effects of sleep apnea.
In fact, some of these treatments are effective to the point that the condition almost disappears. Apart from medical treatment, you can make radical lifestyle changes to manage sleep apnea.
For instance, people that are overweight can lose weight and regain good health.
What is the Most Effective Oral Appliance Therapy for Sleep Apnea?
Titratable mandibular advancement devices are sleep apnea's most effective oral appliances. We recommend mandibular advancement devices because they help reduce the severe effects of obstructive sleep apnea.
These devices also effectively manage common symptoms like headaches and tiredness in the morning. You will have a better sleep at night thanks to these oral appliances.
Schedule an Appointment Today!
If you are suffering from sleep apnea, our team at Neu Family Dental is ready to help you. We will help reduce the severe effects of this condition by applying mandibular advancement devices. Call (847) 230-9143 today to schedule your appointment. |
