Did you know that breathing and sleeping both affect your oral health? That’s why your dentist is one of the best professionals to turn to for snoring therapy in State College! In fact, your dentist has more than one way to help treat your sleeping disorder. Learn more about sleep apnea and the different ways to remedy this condition in this week’s blog post.
Get to Know Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder that causes interruptions in breathing while you try to rest. These interruptions occur when your upper airway is blocked by the lower jaw or tongue relaxing too much. It’s dangerous because the airway becomes compromised, causing your body to jolt awake and interrupt important the REM sleep cycle, among other concerns.
Obstructive sleep apnea may be linked to these other concerns:
- Sleep deprivation from lack of critical REM sleep
- Risks of developing other systematic health conditions like heart disease or having a stroke
- Depression
- Frequent mood swings from lack of rest
- Increased chance of car accidents from sleep deprivation
How Can You Treat Sleep Apnea?
Thankfully, there are many different ways that you can address sleep apnea as well. It depends on your personal case, as everyone’s mouth is different.
Weight Loss
If you have a mild case of sleep apnea, it could be because of the little bit of weight you may have recently gained. When you gain weight, the circumference of the neck (and airway) could become affected, partially blocking your airway.
CPAP Therapy
CPAP is a traditional form of therapy. It’s a machine that gently forces the airway to remain open throughout the night. CPAP pushes air through a mask that you wear at night to keep your breathing consistent. This can be unbearable to wear to some patients, though. So, your dentist in State College offers another option.
Custom Oral Appliances
There are many patients who are CPAP intolerant, so many people benefit from custom oral appliances from their dentist. The custom mouthpiece keeps the airway open through the night by shifting the jaw comfortably forward.
To discover the best way to treat sleep apnea in State College, you must reach out to your dentist for a consultation. They may move forward with a sleep study and partner with your regular doctor to find your best fitting solution.
About Our Office
Here at State College Dental Sleep Medicine, our team works to help patients suffering from sleep apnea to feel safe when they rest at night. It ’s enough to stress about losing sleep—but even worse when you lose sleep because of a condition that’s out of your control! The good thing is that treatment is just a phone call away when you choose to visit our practice. Feel free to contact us today to schedule your consultation!