Sleep Apnea
Does your child wet the bed at night?
Do you grind your teeth?
Do you snore?
Do you wake suddenly at night?
Do you wake with headaches ?
Do you suffer from day time sleepiness?
These are some of the symptoms commonly associated with the sleep disordered breathing condition of obstructive sleep apnea
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which you have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while you sleep.
Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes, normal breathing then starts again, sometimes with a loud snort or choking sound.
Sleep apnea usually is a chronic (ongoing) condition that disrupts your sleep. You often move out of deep sleep and into light sleep when your breathing pauses or becomes shallow.
This results in poor sleep quality that makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is one of the leading causes of excessive daytime sleepiness.
How do you know if you have sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Doctors usually can't detect the condition during routine office visits. Also, there are no blood tests for the condition.
Most people who have sleep apnea don't know they have it because it only occurs during sleep. A family member may first notice the signs of sleep apnea.
The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. This most often means that the airway has collapsed or is blocked during sleep. The blockage may cause shallow breathing or breathing pauses.
Often your dentist will also be able to detect signs of sleep apnea in your mouth with examples of dry mouth, red inflamed gums, increased rate of decay or wear on the teeth.
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
When you're awake, throat muscles help keep your airway stiff and open so air can flow into your lungs. When you sleep, these muscles are more relaxed. Normally, the relaxed throat muscles don't prevent your airway from staying open to allow air into your lungs.
Other causes of sleep apnea can be
- overweight
- your tongue and throat muscles relax more than normal.
- You have enlarged tonsils
- The shape of your head and neck
- The ageing process
Not enough air flows into your lungs if your airway is fully or partly blocked during sleep. This can cause loud snoring and a drop in your blood oxygen level.
If the oxygen drops to a dangerous level, it triggers your brain to disturb your sleep. This helps tighten the upper airway muscles and open your windpipe. Normal breaths then start again, often with a loud snort or choking sound.
Side effects from the frequent drops in oxygen levels include
- high blood pressure
- heart attack
- stoke
- arrhythmias (irregular heart beat)
And untreated sleep apnea can lead to obesity and an increased risk of diabetes
Who Is At Risk for Sleep Apnea?
Everyone!
Men have a higher incidence of sleep apnea then women, and becomes more common as we age. Women have a higher incidence during pregnancy and after menopause.
Treatment
Sydney Dental Professionals is committed to ongoing health and wellbeing of our patients. We offer home sleep studies to assist with the diagnosis of sleep apnea and treatment. Treatment options vary depending on the severity , for mild to moderate cases sleep apnea can often be treated by your dentist with a sleep appliance worn at night for some moderate and severe cases we can refer to a sleep physician for dual care and possibly a positive air pressure appliance to enable normal breathing during sleep.
