Do you experience breathing lapses while you sleep? Sleep apnea refers to a serious sleep disorder that’s characterized by multiple extended pauses in breath. Since this abnormal breathing significantly affects your body’s supply of oxygen, it’s best to ask your dentist about sleep apnea treatment in Las Vegas.
Since this condition can potentially lead to serious health complications such as high blood pressure and heart disease, knowing its types, causes, symptoms, and treatments is extremely important.
Having at least one or more close relatives who suffer from OSA increases a person’s chances of developing OSA themselves.
A person who uses tobacco products is more likely to develop OSA compared to a person who doesn’t smoke.
Aside from being one of the leading causes of OSA, being overweight is the underlying factor in up to 60% of these cases. Studies show that obesity leads to the anatomical narrowing of the airway. A 10% increase in weight can be equivalent to a sixfold increase of their OSA risk.
OSA is mainly characterized by a blockage in an individual’s airway while they’re sleeping. For this reason, the airflow may be significantly affected by certain anatomical characteristics that involve the jaw, neck, tongue, tonsils, and tissue near the back of the throat.
Since the tissue in the throat relaxes after taking sedative drugs and medications, the airway is likely to become obstructed.
When a person sleeps on their back, the tissue located near the back of their throat tends to collapse around their airway and block it.
An individual’s chances for developing OSA increases when nasal congestion reduces their ability to breathe through their nose.
Certain health conditions caused by hormone abnormalities may increase a person’s risk of OSA. These hormone conditions include acromegaly and hypothyroidism.
A person who suffers a stroke, a brain tumor, or an infection in the brain may cause considerable damage to the brain stem. A damaged brain stem won’t be able to recognize the levels of carbon dioxide inside the person’s body. As a result, breathing becomes shallower and slower than how it should be.
The normal breathing process can also be interfered with by the regular intake of medicines that include opioids.
When a person is at a high altitude, their oxygen levels are thrown off. As this happens they may experience CSA.
Aside from disrupted breathing during sleep, other symptoms of sleep apnea include the following:
It’s difficult to treat sleep apnea if the root cause of the problem isn’t identified. Your doctor may recommend an overnight sleep study to analyze your breathing patterns. If you were diagnosed with OSA, your treatment plan will be focused on reducing your risks for developing long-term health conditions.
Specific recommendations will also be made, depending on your situation. For example, your doctor may advise you to sleep on your side, reduce your use of sedatives, or lose weight. You may also be instructed to use a bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) or a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to keep your airway open during sleep.
The use of dental appliances can also be the ideal treatment if you have mild to moderate OSA. They keep your upper airway open by preventing the base of your tongue from collapsing and blocking your airway.
If you’re one of the 22 million Americans who suffer from this sleep disorder, the dental care team at Dee for Dentist in Las Vegas is here to help you get relief. We can prescribe you a custom-fitted oral sleep appliance, you can reduce your daytime tiredness, improve the quality of your night sleep, and reduce your apneas. Contact our office today to schedule your appointment.