For active individuals, getting to sleep can be a difficult routine each night. Often, it is due to their restless personality. On the other hand, people who suffer from daytime fatigue fail to realize that they may have a medical disorder. Often, it will take a loved one to confront them about being tested for sleep apnea.
Thankfully, there are several treatment options available. When looking for sleep apnea solutions in La Mesa, California, residents should spend time assessing the benefits that come with each treatment option. Dr. Richard B. Evans and the staff at Summit Dental of La Mesa can gather all the pertinent information that will make your decision-making process much more manageable.
Sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes a person to stop breathing for 10 seconds or more (Apnea), and/or causes their blood oxygen levels to drop by 3 to 4% (hypoxia) during sleep. There are two types of apneas. Central Apneas where the brain just turns off breathing and Obstructive Apneas where the tongue and/or the soft palate drop back and obstruct the airway when one falls asleep. If a child has an apnea or a hypoxia even one per hour, they have sleep apnea. If an adult has an apnea or hypoxia 6 to 15 times per hour, they have mild sleep apnea, 16 to 30 times per hour they have moderate sleep apnea, and above 30 times per hour, they have severe sleep apnea.
Some recognizable symptoms are waking up gasping for air, morning headaches, snoring, daytime drowsiness, or waking up unrefreshed. If this sounds familiar, then you might be suffering from sleep apnea. Do not be alarmed. Most sufferers are unaware of their condition. The diagnosis may come as a surprise as you felt your daily sleep patterns were normal.
Untreated Sleep Apnea Can Escalate into Other Health Conditions
If this Sleep Apnea is left untreated, then it will cause fragmented sleeping cycles, starve your brain of oxygen and will put undue stress on your heart.
For any severity of sleep apnea, your physician will most likely recommend using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask that is tethered to a bedside air pump. The device will help to deliver positive pressure through the mask while you’re asleep. The increased pressure will keep your airway wide open and prevent most apneas and hypoxias..
Some patients find the mask too cumbersome to wear while they’re sleeping. Often, the solution is adjusting the mask’s straps to fit your head size. If you’re having trouble with the CPAP mask, see your CPAP provider for a more secure fit. If you can not tolerate CPAP no matter how hard you try, you are not alone. The national average is that 60% of patients who try CPAP, can not tolerate it. There are other options
For mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea and those that have severe sleep apnea who are intolerant of CPAP, a dentist, trained in dental sleep medicine, can make an oral appliance which helps open the airway during sleep.
Positional therapy can be use in combination with an oral appliance or in mild sleep apnea cases where one has a positional type of sleep apnea.
Myofunctional therapy has shown to decrease severity by up to 50%. It can be used in combination with other forms of treatment.
Surgical options include jaw advancement surgery, nasal surgeries, inspire implant and even tracheotomy.
Traditionally, sleep apnea sufferers will wear a CPAP mask as part of their treatment plan. But there are lifestyle adjustments that can be beneficial in reducing sleep apnea symptoms.
Doctors will recommend that you lose weight as obesity increases the risk of airway obstruction through your narrow nasal passage. Thus, the odds are high that you will stop breathing several times throughout the night. The weight loss helps to open your air passage, which lessens the frequency of sleep apnea from developing.
When considering sleep apnea treatment options in La Mesa, California, call Summit Dental of La Mesa at (619) 494-2492. Dr. Richard B. Evans and his team can provide all the information needed for you to make an informed decision on the best treatment plan. Schedule an appointment today.
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