If you are suffering from sleep apnea treatment is essential. Without treatment you are putting yourself in the high risk category for stroke and heart attack.
March 20 is National Sleep Apnea Awareness Day. On this day it’s important to let people know how potentially dangerous this disorder is.
What is Sleep Apnea?
Affecting millions of people across the United States and beyond, sleep apnea is a disorder that closes the airways while sleeping. Once the airways close the person can’t breathe.
These cessations in breathing can last as long as 10 seconds. During that time the brain is doing its best to wake the person up so that he or she can resume breathing again.
You can only imagine what these episodes do to the brain because of the lack of oxygen. That lack of oxygen makes strokes and heart attack much more common in people suffering from sleep apnea.
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
According to Harry Ringer D.D.S. the disorder is caused by a number of things. With that being said there is no primary cause.
Some of those reasons could be weight, large neck size or tobacco use. If you are on certain medications and you are having trouble talk to your doctor as prescribed and over the counter drugs could be the culprit.
In addition people with adenoids and tonsils could be affected. Furthermore people who love to indulge in alcohol and those who were born with a small airway could also be dealing with the disorder. In some cases sleep apnea is hereditary.
Dental Sleep Medicine
Dr. Harry Ringer provides dental sleep medicine using oral appliance therapy and other non-intrusive treatments that allow people to get a decent night’s sleep.
Dental sleep medicine uses custom made oral appliances, such as mouth splints and mouth guards to keep the throat open so that the person suffering can breathe.
These custom made appliances are worn throughout the night and are a gentle way to the disorder and the problems that come with it.
Dental sleep medicine works for other types of sleeping disorders and for people who snore as well.
Keep in mind that oral devices must be prescribed by a licensed dentist. Buying one at your local pharmacy or online will only bring more problems. Furthermore, it could actually make things worse.
Laguna Hills Sleep Apnea Dentist
If you have sleep apnea or know someone who has it but isn’t happy with treatment schedule an appointment. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well oral appliance therapy works.
Call or book an appointment online today.