A little bit of snoring when you’re congested and have a cold is one thing, but chronic, loud, incessant snoring may be an indication of a greater problem like sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition that causes you to stop breathing in your sleep which can lead to even further health problems like a heart attack, stroke, or hypertension. When it comes to sleep apnea, you may be wondering what on earth McDowell Dental Group has to do with it. Let’s take a closer look at what your oral health and sleep apnea have in common.
The Tissue In Your Throat
We previously mentioned that the biggest issue with sleep apnea is that it causes you to stop breathing in the middle of the night. But why? Patients with sleep apnea typically have soft tissue in the back of the throat that collapses and blocks the airway which reduces the amount of oxygen flow to your heart and brain. Here at McDowell dental group, we use oral appliances to help block that tissue from collapsing.
How Do Oral Appliances Work?
For the oral appliance to do its job, we will make a custom mold of your mouth to help us make your oral appliance. Once your oral appliance has been created, it will fit in your mouth while you sleep and is similar to an orthodontic retainer or a mouthguard. Once your oral appliance is in your mouth, it helps to prevent the collapse of the tongue and soft tissues in the float which keep your airway open while you sleep.
How Do I Get Started?
Before we can start with the treatment, we will have you perform an at-home-sleep study that will help us determine if, in fact, you do have sleep apnea. If you do, we may simply recommend an oral appliance alone or in conjunction with other treatments like a CPAP machine.
If you or a loved one thing that you have sleep apnea, contact our Abington office today to schedule an appointment. Call us at: (215) 885-0555.