Have you been suffering from restless nights lately? You may have developed a disorder known as sleep apnea, a condition that leads to loud snoring and can leave you feeling exhausted even after what you thought was a full night’s rest. If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, or you suspect that you have it, get in touch with Dream Team of Little Rock today; depending on the underlying cause and severity of the disorder, we may be able to find a way to help you breathe easier each and every night. Better sleep leads to better health.
Sleep apnea is characterized by sudden, repeated stops and starts in your breathing. Occasionally, this is due to an issue with the way your brain sends signals to the rest of your body (a condition known as central sleep apnea), but most of the time, apnea attacks occur because the airway has been physically blocked in some way (obstructive sleep apnea). The most common cause involves the soft muscles and tissues in the mouth and throat relaxing and collapsing together at night.
Snoring is a common indication of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Other signs and symptoms include:
Sleep apnea may seem like nothing more than an inconvenience. In reality, though, it can place your overall health in jeopardy. For example, it is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and dementia. It even has a strong link to type 2 diabetes. It can also slow down your reaction times and make it difficult for you to safely operate a motor vehicle; you are more likely to be involved in a collision. Additionally, the emotional problems that often arise as a lack of sleep can impact your social life and your family relationships.
Not all cases of sleep apnea are the same, and it takes an expert’s eye to find the underlying cause of the issue so that an appropriate treatment can be chosen. Here at Little Rock Family Dental Care, we use the advanced Eccovision pharyngometer and rhinometer to measure our patients’ airways and strive to determine why they are struggling to breathe at night. We also offer convenient at-home sleep studies with the innovative WatchPAT device.
Following your diagnostic tests, you can explore treatment options. Sometimes, changing your sleeping position or losing weight might help, but many need professional intervention as well. For example, many sleep apnea patients benefit from wearing a special oral appliance that opens the airway by repositioning the jaw, which can be provided by one of the qualified dentists in Little Rock who work in our practice. Many patients find an oral appliance to be much more convenient than a CPAP machine, which is the traditional method for addressing OSA.