There you are, sound asleep when one of two things happens. Either the person sleeping next to you is cutting so many Z’s that you’d prefer the sound of a chainsaw or it’s you getting elbowed repeatedly with requests to roll over and stop snoring!
It’s a common refrain in houses all over the country – maybe you aren’t even sleeping in the same room as the culprit but can hear them through the walls! Being kept awake is no fun and it’s just as bad to know that you’re the noisy one. What can you do about snoring when you are asleep when it happens?
The answers are far easier than you might think, especially when you come to Edgewood Dental Care! We’ve been treating chronic snorers for years, and we’re even able to treat patients suffering from sleep apnea, a condition that often manifests through loud snoring.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea involves your airway becoming blocked during the night while you’re asleep. This is caused by the soft tissue in your throat relaxing at night and blocking your ability to breath. Interruption in breathing can also be incomplete, and when that happens there’s some really loud snoring!
Pauses in breathing are scary enough, but there are a lot of other side-effects as well! Daytime fatigue, depression, loss of libido, heart attack, stroke, and other serious side effects can be the long-term outcome of sleep apnea. That’s why it’s so important to have your sleep apnea and snoring treated now!
What If I’m Just Snoring?
Hopefully that’s all it is, but it’s still just as noisy and irritating! To diagnose a case of sleep apnea we’ll send you home with a kit called Sleep Optima which is used to measure your sleep habits, breathing patterns, and other potential signs that you have sleep apnea. Many dentists and doctors who test for sleep apnea would send you to a sleep specialist for an overnight stay, but not us! You can be tested for sleep apnea in the comfort of your own home!
We’ll also go over your diet, health history, and other important lifestyle factors while you’re here in our Edgewood dentist office. We don’t want to miss out on any possible causes for your snoring!
How Is Sleep Apnea and Snoring Treated?
Once we have a diagnosis of sleep apnea we’ll start with the most practical treatment available: a nighttime sleep guard. These mouthguards are small and are worn during the night while you sleep. They hold your jaw in a position that prevents the airway collapse in sleep apnea which causes snoring. Even if you don’t have sleep apnea you can still benefit from a nighttime sleep guard!
We also might recommend some lifestyle changes that can help eliminate sleep apnea symptoms, such as dietary changes, weight loss, smoking cessation, and a decrease in alcohol intake. All these factors can aggravate sleep apnea and snoring and by changing them you could be getting a healthier life and a better night’s sleep!
Some patients don’t respond well to a sleep guard and others don’t find relief, which is why we’re glad to be able to offer CPAP treatment as well! CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure and involves a small machine that sits on your bedside table that attaches to a mask you wear at night. A CPAP machine works to pressurize the air you breath at night, helping to keep your airway open and your sleep apnea symptoms at bay. Many patients find the CPAP machine hard to adjust to but can’t imagine life without it once they do!
If you are concerned about your ability to get a good night’s sleep or your health and wellbeing due to sleep apnea or snoring you don’t need to continue suffering any longer! Edgewood Dental Care has the tools and services you need to take care of sleep apnea and snoring and keep it away!
Don’t spend one more restless night wishing for relief. Call our office at 859-474-7830 or request an appointment by filling out our online appointment request form. We look forward to helping you sleep and live better!