Does this sound like you? You climb into bed every night, maybe fall asleep quickly (or maybe not) but wake in the morning feeling exhausted and foggy. If most of your mornings sound like this, you might have sleep apnea. You don’t have to live (or sleep) this way, though. There are sleep apnea treatments that can help break this cycle.

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea, also referred to as sleep disordered breathing (SDB), affects an estimated 25 million people in the U.S. Those statistics only take into account people with an actual sleep apnea diagnosis, and the real numbers may be much higher.

Aside from waking up every morning feeling exhausted and unrested, there are some common symptoms of sleep apnea, including:

  • Daytime fatigue and excessive sleepiness
  • Snoring
  • Difficulty concentrating and other mental issues
  • Noticeable cessation of breath during sleep followed by a choking intake of air
  • Dry mouth or sore throat upon awakening
  • Morning headache
  • Loss of sex drive
  • Nighttime sweating unrelated to another condition (e.g., menopause)
  • High blood pressure

Sleep apnea is more than just a poor night’s sleep. It carries significant health risks, and proper treatment is crucial.

What sleep apnea treatments could work for me?

The first step to finding your best sleep apnea treatment is to get a proper diagnosis. Although there are at-home test options, a sleep study is usually the most reliable diagnostic tool. The formal name of a sleep study is polysomnography.

This procedure takes about six hours and measures the following things:

  • Brain waves with an electroencephalogram (EEG)
  • Chin and eye movement signaling sleep stages with an electrooculogram (EOG)
  • Heart rate and rhythm with an electrocardiogram (EKG)
  • Respiration
  • Oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood
  • Leg movement

There are no needles involved, as each of these is measurements is taken with various leads and lines connected to machines. For example, a band around the chest will check respiration. This type of diagnostic test determines your apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), which calculates the severity of your sleep apnea.

  • 5 to 15 is mild obstructive sleep apnea
  • 15 to 30 is moderate obstructive sleep apnea
  • 30+ is severe obstructive sleep apnea

In a similar diagnostic practice, called a split-night study, the first part of the study attempts to diagnose the presence of sleep apnea. If a sleep apnea diagnosis is achieved, the sleeper is fitted with a CPAP machine to see if and how they respond to this therapy for the remainder of the study (see more on CPAP machines below).

Sleep apnea treatments can help with all levels of sleep apnea.

1. Sleep apnea prevention

The first step for everyone suffering from sleep apnea is to minimize the risk of worsening your symptoms. Even if you don’t currently suffer but have family members who do, these lifestyle interventions can help prevent sleep apnea.

Lifestyle interventions are also great to use in combination with other sleep apnea treatments that we discuss below.

To prevent sleep apnea, you should:

2. Positive airway pressure devices

CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), BiPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure), and VPAP (variable positive airway pressure) devices are all designed to help keep a sleeper’s airway open as they sleep.

Each type of PAP machine delivers air to the back of the throat in various intervals. The use of PAP machines can help reduce the health risks of sleep apnea, including stroke and heart attack.

There is one major downfall of traditional CPAP machines, though. They are incredibly effective when used consistently, but that’s the problem. Because of the noise, the discomfort of the mask, and the overall hassle of the machine itself, compliance with this treatment can be dramatically low. If you travel a lot they can be challenging to lug along with you. For sleep apnea sufferers with partners who are, themselves, light sleepers, the CPAP machine may not work.

In this case, a sleep apnea device (pictured below) may be the best option for you.

How Can A Sleep Apnea Dentist Help Me? | AZDentist.com

3. Sleep apnea mouth guards and dental devices

There is sleep apnea treatment without CPAP machines. Dentists who treat sleep apnea know that sleep apnea devices and mouth guards can be just as effective as CPAP machines due to their ease of use (and higher level of compliance).

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) not only approves sleep apnea dental devices as a first-line treatment for patients diagnosed with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea but also for patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea who are unable to tolerate or cannot wear CPAP devices.

Known also as oral appliance therapy (OAT), sleep apnea dental devices are custom-fitted by sleep apnea dentists to hold the jaw slightly open and forward. This keeps the airway free and clear all night long.

Although much easier to use than a CPAP machine, oral appliances may not be effective for the most severe cases of sleep apnea. Additionally, the following patients may need to avoid them:

  • Those with loose teeth
  • Patients with a jaw that slopes steeply up
  • People with conditions that limit their ability to open the mouth (e.g., those with temporomandibular joint disorder)

4. Sleep apnea surgery

Not all treatment options for sleep apnea are good for every patient. In some cases, severe obstructive sleep apnea only responds to surgery. During sleep apnea surgery, your surgeon removes extra tissue that is causing the nightly obstruction.

This tissue may be located in the following places:

  • Soft palate and uvula
  • Tonsils and adenoids
  • Tongue
  • Upper and lower jaw

Because surgery should be the last treatment considered, it’s important to understand all of your options both for minimal relief and prevention.

AZ Dentist is your sleep apnea dentist. We can help you understand the sleep apnea treatments that are best for you based on the severity of your sleep apnea and lifestyle. Get in touch today!

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