Sleep Apnea Airdrie

Have you found it difficult to sleep at night? Does your snoring keep you or your loved one awake? Do you find yourself waking up from time to time with difficulty breathing? You may be suffering from something called sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is one of a number of sleep disorders but in this case the sufferer usually has trouble breathing at night while asleep. People who are experiencing sleep apnea actually stop breathing while asleep; sometimes as many as a hundred times in a night. This could mean that the person may fail to get sufficient oxygen.

This is serious, but there are dental treatment options available.

There are a number of possible risk factors including;

• being a male
• being overweight
• being older than 40 years of age
• possessing a particularly large neck size
• possessing big tonsils, a big tongue, or a having a small jaw
• when a close family member has had sleep apnea
• being a victim of gastroesophageal reflux
• having a nasal obstruction as a result of a deviated septum, an allergy, or a sinus problem

There are actually two different types of sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the more common type; it is when there is an obstructed airway, often caused by the tissue located at the back of the throat collapsing while the victim sleeps and the throat muscles relax.

Dental treatment options could help to relieve breathing problems associated with OSA. Your bite can often be related to the way the airways are and the breathing patterns. Dental treatment options involve repositioning the bite and jaws to allow for better breathing through the airways.

If the condition is not treated and as sleep deprivation often takes place there are a number of health issues and symptoms that could occur, which include:

• elevated blood pressure
• stroke
• depression
• irregular heartbeats, heart attacks and heart failure
• diabetes
• decrease in job performance
• relationship problems
• memory loss
• difficulty concentrating
• headaches
• fatigue

If sleep apnea is not treated, it could be responsible for poorer performance in day to day tasks, like at work and school, driving a motor vehicle and underachievement in academic work of children and adolescents.

Fortunately, sleep apnea has been studied quite extensively and you may be surprised to find that your dentist can help provide a solution.