Sleep Apnea Dental An Effective Method of Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Approximately 18 million Americans are affected by obstructive sleep apnea, causing them to snore loudly and experience repeated breathing interruptions throughout the night. The interruptions occur because the throat muscles in the back are lax, the tongue is too large, or the jaw too small to cause airway obstructions.
Remedies for obstructive sleep apnea are available but inaccessible or expensive to most. It is why sleep apnea is often ignored by most, thinking it is just a problem of loud snoring and doesn’t require medical attention. The problem aggravates significantly because most people don’t have information about the adverse complications of sleep apnea. They avoid visiting medical practitioners for remedies fearing they may not have the time or the resources to undergo sleep apnea testing.
What Are the Adverse Complications of Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea has many adverse effects on people who experience sleepiness and fatigue during the day, irritability, high blood pressure, difficulties concentrating on daytime activities, and headaches. People affected by this problem do not get a good night’s rest and prevent their bed partners from getting the rest they deserve.
Affected people are often prone to accidents when driving or at work and operating machinery. They are also susceptible to conditions like cardiovascular disease, decreased libido, and various other health issues because their interrupted breathing patterns repeatedly wake them up briefly during the night. However, they do not remember the awakenings.
How Can People Manage Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
People have various options to manage sleep apnea. They can either contact their primary care provider seeking advice about this problem. Identifying sleep apnea is challenging unless people discuss the issue with their bed partners and admit unhesitatingly they have a problem that needs treatment from a medical professional.
Primary health care providers are aware of sleep apnea but cannot diagnose the condition unless they refer the patient to a sleep medicine specialist. The specialists, in turn, refer the patient to a sleep center for having a polysomnography test requiring the attachment of equipment for the patient’s body for an overnight sleep test. The polysomnography test is the gold standard for diagnosing this condition but is expensive and inaccessible. The results of the test require weeks or months before they are delivered to the primary care provider.
What Are the Alternatives Do Patients Have?
Patients suspecting they may have sleep apnea can contact sleep apnea dental near me, where the dentist Smithtown, NY, also recommends a sleep study although the dentist 11787 is well versed in the symptoms and treatments for the condition. Sleep medicine specialists are better equipped to diagnose sleep apnea officially, and a study is essential before the dentist provides any remedy.
Sleep apnea dental appliance in Smithtown, NY, is an effective remedy against obstructive sleep apnea because it enables the patient’s jaw to remain in a forward position when sleeping to prevent obstruction of the airway passages. The oral appliance provided by the best dentist near me is similar to a mouthguard and makes patients believe they can conveniently purchase the device from drugstores or sporting goods stores.
Patients must understand over-the-counter devices are not appropriate when dealing with a condition like sleep apnea. It would be helpful to rely on the Smithtown dentist who utilizes information and research pioneered by dentists to deal with obstructive sleep apnea. Dentists deliver a customized device developed specifically for the patient’s mouth to ensure it is comfortable to wear, allows breathing without obstructing the airway passages, and most importantly, fits the patient’s mouth perfectly.
Patients seeking treatment from sleep apnea dental must provide impressions of their mouth for the dentist to have the oral appliance customized for them from a dental lab. A waiting time of around two weeks is necessary before the dental lab delivers the device.
Sleep apnea also results from teeth grinding and clenching, which the dentist identifies before providing the oral appliance to deal with sleep apnea. They may also suggest some lifestyle changes like losing weight, limiting alcohol consumption, tobacco use, and sleeping on the sides instead of the back. Sleep apnea is a severe sleep-related disorder that shouldn’t be ignored as a minor problem. People affected by obstructive sleep apnea must seek treatments either from their primary health care provider or the Smithtown dentist, offering a practical and portable remedy to deal with this condition.