Sleep apnea is a potentially deadly medical disorder in which the body will stop breathing while a person is asleep. When the body does this the muscles in the throat become very relaxed which then makes it very easy for the tongue to slide back and block a person's airway.
Symptoms of sleep apnea are: loud snoring, waking from sleep by gasping for breath or loud choking sounds, unrefreshed sleep, insomnia and fatigue, as well as unintentionally falling asleep and daytime sleepiness.
Thankfully, sleep apnea can be easily treated with either Oral Appliance Therapy or Upper Airway Surgery.
"Oral appliances are a front-line treatment for snoring and mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea." Basically these appliances are are small plastic devices (much like a mouth guard or orthodontic retainer) that patients were at night. The appliance will help prevent the collapse of the tongue and other soft tissues that are located at the back of the throat, keeping the airway open during sleep and allowing for adequate air intake. Oral appliances can be used in conjunction with Upper Airway Surgery as well.
Upper Airway Surgery will be performed if other treatments are not successful in eliminating the symptoms of sleep apnea or previous treatments are not tolerated by the patients. This type of surgery can be minimally evasive to more complex depending on the seriousness of a patient's symptoms. "Surgery is site-specific, meaning it requires the identification of specific anatomic areas contributing to airway obstruction." In order for a dentist to determine the amount of surgery a patient will require, a detailed examination of the entire upper airway will be required.
For more information about Dental Sleep Medicine, Sleep Apnea, and/or Upper Airway Surgery here is a link to the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine : (http://www.aadsm.org) or please feel free to call Waxahachie Family Dentistry at (972-937-4370) for more information or to set up an appointment.
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