Heavy snoring can be a sign of a dangerous condition called sleep apnea. When you snore, the soft tissues in the back of your throat collapse onto themselves and obstruct the airway, causing the vibration known as snoring. Fortunately, the Sleep Apnea Dentist, Manhattan Beach California has safe, effective options for dealing with sleep apnea.
If the obstruction becomes serious, it is called obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. In such cases the flow of air may be stopped for brief periods, causing you to wake for a second or two with a loud gasp as you attempt to catch your breath.
This can cause heart and blood pressure problems, related to low oxygen levels in the blood. The obstruction and mini-awakening cycle can occur as many as 50 times an hour. A person with this condition awakens tired and faces the risk of accidents at work or while driving due to fatigue.
Studies show that sleep apnea patients are much more likely to suffer from heart attack, congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, brain damage and strokes.
Snoring, apnea, and OSA occur more frequently in people who are overweight. So start with losing weight and exercising.
The Sleep Apnea Dentist, Manhattan Beach California can design oral appliances to wear while sleeping that will keep your airway open while you sleep. These appliances, which look like sports mouth guards, work by repositioning the lower jaw, tongue, soft palate and uvula (soft tissues in the back of the throat); stabilizing the lower jaw and tongue; and increasing the muscle tone of the tongue.
Another approach is to use a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) bedside machine. These machines send pressurized air through a tube connected to a mask covering the nose and sometimes the mouth. The pressurized air opens the airway so that breathing is not interrupted.
Diagnosis and treatment of OSA is best accomplished by joint consultation with your physician and our office. Please contact our dentist office, and we’ll be happy to make arrangements to get the process started.
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