Sleep apnea is the most common sleep disorder in America, affecting up to 22 million adults. Many people with sleep apnea do not even know that they suffer from this condition. At Consultants In Dental Aesthetics, Dr. Michael J. Landry is here to help. Learn more about sleep apnea below to get the help you need for a restful night’s sleep. Don't hesitate to stop by the office located at 9700 Louetta Road, Spring, TX 77379.
The most common type of sleep apnea is called Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA. In this type of apnea, the soft tissue of the palate and throat sags while you sleep, blocking your airway for 2-10 seconds or longer. The blockage causes an interruption in breathing and blood oxygenation. This may occur dozens or even hundreds of times per night, leading to poor quality sleep, daytime drowsiness, and irritability.
In the long term, sleep apnea can also contribute to your risk of a heart attack or stroke, since these frequent interruptions in breathing interfere with proper blood oxygenation. Your Spring dentist is ready to help you find solutions to this severe health issue.
If you have sleep apnea, your sleeping partner may notice prolonged, loud snoring accompanied by periodic interruptions in breathing. You may also make choking or gasping noises when you wake up.
In addition, you may wake up with a sore throat or dry mouth, have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, and notice that you may have trouble paying attention during the day. If you notice one or more of these signs, you may want to see a specialist to find out if you have sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can cause you to feel extremely tired when you wake up even after you’ve seemingly gotten a full night’s rest. This is because you wake up repeatedly throughout the night when your breathing pauses.
This can interfere with sleep quality and restfulness. However, it happens so quickly that you may not remember it. Daytime drowsiness can be dangerous because it can cause you to fall asleep at the wheel or get hurt on the job.
If you’ve ever woken up in the middle of the night feeling like you were choking or gasping for air, this is a clear sign of sleep apnea. In obstructive sleep apnea, the tissues in the throat relax to the point that your airway becomes blocked.
This deprives the brain of oxygen and causes you to wake up to alert you to the fact that you need to restart your breathing. You may want to get x-rays taken to look for enlarged tissues that could be blocking your airway.
Sleep apnea is considered a sleep disorder that interferes with your restfulness, which will result in feeling tired all the time. If you notice that you constantly feel tired no matter how many hours of sleep you’re getting, this could be a sign of sleep apnea, especially if there’s no other explainable reason for your fatigue.
Most sleep apnea sufferers are mouth breathers. Breathing through your mouth at night will dry up your saliva, leaving you with Dry Mouth, which can lead to the feeling of a sore throat.
When your brain is deprived of oxygen, the buildup of CO2 causes frequent headaches or migraines. If you wake up with headaches a lot, this could be a sign that you’re not breathing in your sleep.
When you have chronic fatigue, aren’t getting good quality sleep, and are frequently depriving your brain of oxygen, you will notice that you have a lack of concentration, which can cause work and school performance to deteriorate or it can be difficult to remember things.
Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition that causes serious damage to your body over time and increases your risk of premature death. When you stop breathing in your sleep, you wake up startled. This causes an increase in blood pressure and heart rate.
This can happen many times throughout the night which results in higher inflammation markers in the body. Sleep apnea is closely associated with serious health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, asthma, hypertension, and much more.
You are at an increased risk of developing these conditions if you have untreated sleep apnea. Sleep apnea also interferes with your mood, concentration, and restfulness which puts you at risk of getting into an accident while driving, developing a mood disorder like anxiety or depression, and developing cognitive problems.
This depends on the extent of your apnea, and your specific situation. Lifestyle changes are often recommended as part of sleep apnea treatment. For example, avoiding alcohol and sedative medications before bed and ceasing smoking can help reduce the effects of obstructive sleep apnea. Overweight or obese people may also be able to lose weight to treat their sleep apnea.
Consultants In Dental Aesthetics partners with Houston Sleep Apnea to offer patients Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) with custom-built night guards. These night guards are designed to shift the jaw into a forward position during sleep, which eliminates the risk of tissue sagging and blocking the airway. This, in turn, prevents OSA and allows you to get a healthy, restful night of sleep.
However, in some cases, patients with very severe sleep apnea may require a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine. This type of machine uses a pump and a mask to send a stream of positively pressurized air into the lungs as you sleep. This prevents the airway tissue from sagging.
If you suspect that you may have sleep apnea and you are interested in a diagnosis, sleep study, or just more information about apnea, book an appointment online with our partner practice, Houston Sleep Apnea, or get a free virtual consult. Dr. Michael J. Landry is an expert in sleep apnea treatment and oral appliance therapy and can help you sleep soundly once again. We proudly serve both Spring and Kohrville, TX.
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