Sleep Apnea Screening in the dental office has become more common over the past few years. Your Dentist could be the first one to question your sleep habits.
What is Sleep Apnea
Sleep Apnea is common but can be a serious disorder. While sleeping your breathing repeatedly stops and starts. If you have sleep apnea, you’re probably not aware of these short breathing pauses that occur hundreds of times a night, jolting you out of your natural sleep rhythm. All you know is that you don’t feel as energetic, mentally sharp, or productive during the day as you should.
Types of Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea. It occurs when the soft tissue in the back of the throat relaxes during sleep and blocks the airway, often causing you to snore loudly.
Central sleep apnea is a much less common type of sleep apnea that involves the central nervous system, occurring when the brain fails to signal the muscles that control breathing. People with central sleep apnea seldom snore.
Complex sleep apnea is a combination of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.
Signs
One of the early signs of Sleep Apnea is tooth grinding or Bruxism. Your Dentist or Dental Hygienist can see worn surfaces on teeth, fractured teeth, receding gums and red and inflammed gums.
Grinding your teeth at night is just one oral health sign that you may have Sleep Apnea. A small jaw, scalloped tongue, large tongue and red tonsils are some of the other signs.
Snoring, sleep disturbances, daytime sleepeness and fatigue. sleep Apnea is linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
Diagnosing and testing
Home sleep study prescribed by your physician or dentist. Most at home sleep tests are used just for one night. It’s also less expensive than a sleep study in a clinic. It’s usually a third to a fifth of the cost of doing an in-lab study.
With an at home sleep study, you’ll be in the comfort of your own surroundings, which could offer a more accurate reading of how you actually sleep.
A sleep center test has multiple bedrooms that are set up for overnight sleep studies. These rooms are designed to be as comfortable and homey as possible, often with regular bedroom furniture, a television, a private bathroom, and other amenities.
Treatment for Sleep Apnea
Continuous Positive Airflow Pressure (CPAP) is the most common treatment for moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. The CPAP device is a mask-like machine that covers your nose and mouth, providing a constant stream of air that keeps your breathing passages open while you sleep.
If you’ve given up on sleep apnea machines in the past because of discomfort, you owe it to yourself to give them a second look. CPAP technology is constantly being updated and improved, and the new CPAP devices are lighter, quieter, and more comfortable. In many cases, you’ll experience immediate symptom relief and a huge boost in your mental and physical energy.
Sleep Apnea screening in the dental office offers custom made oral sleep appliances. Oral sleep appliances are becoming more popular for treatment as they offer ease over breathing devices. They’re quieter, more portable, and tend to be more comfortable. While there are many different oral appliances for sleep apnea treatment, most are either acrylic devices that fit inside your mouth, much like an athletic mouth guard.
Oral devices open your airway by bringing your lower jaw or your tongue forward during sleep. When you find the best treatment option for you, still there is a period of time to get use to your new device.
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