Fairport, Pittsford, Rochester NY
According to the National Sleep Foundation, approximately 37 million Americans snore, to some degree, while sleeping. Snoring can be a benign inconvenience, especially if you share a bed with a snorer, but snoring also can be a sign of a serious problem that even could cost you your life.
Why do I snore?
Any case of snoring manifests when the airway narrows or becomes partially blocked during sleep. Common causes of snoring include nasal congestion, enlarged tonsils or even as an effect of drinking alcohol. However, snoring also is considered the primary warning sign of a sleep breathing disorder called obstructive sleep apnea.
What is obstructive sleep apnea?
A person with sleep apnea often exhibits noisy stops and starts in his or her breathing during sleep. These interruptions in breathing occur from blockages in the airway, often during a collapse of soft tissue in the throat. The blockages that cause sleep apnea can be partial or complete, significantly restricting the flow of air through the airway and interrupting breathing. When these interruptions occur, your body and brain react as if you are choking, rousing you from sleep. This disrupts the sleep cycle, depriving you of the restoration to mind and body that occur during the cycle of deep sleep.
Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Because of these disruptions, many people with sleep apnea also complain of constantly being tired, no matter how many hours of sleep they get per night. Not getting enough quality sleep can be quite harmful to your quality of life; you become irritable with those around you, and your performance at work or school suffers. A sleep apnea patient also faces a much higher risk of chronic, life-threatening health ailments such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, cardiac arrhythmia, and hypertension.
Who is at risk for obstructive sleep apnea?
Recent data compiled by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that, among routine snorers, 34 percent of men and 19 percent of women either have sleep apnea or at risk of developing the sleep breathing disorder.
A sleep apnea dentist can perform a screening for sleep apnea through an airway evaluation. If your snoring is the result of a case of sleep apnea, this problem will not go away on its own. You must receive treatment from a medical professional such as a sleep apnea dentist.
Treating Sleep Apnea
At Pittsford Dental Excellence Center, we prefer to provide treatment through oral appliance therapy. This consists of constructing a mouthpiece that is customized to fit your mouth securely and can be worn comfortably throughout the night. These oral appliances shift your lower jaw into its ideal forward resting position and help maintain an open airway when you sleep. Sleep apnea patients also report that use of an oral appliance is easier and far more convenient than other sleep apnea treatments, such as the use of a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine.
Sleep Apnea Treatment in Pittsford
Don’t let your snoring potentially cost you your life. To schedule your screening for sleep apnea, call the office of Pittsford Dental Excellence Center at (585) 248-2575 today.
Pittsford Dental Excellence Center is here to serve patients in the areas of Fairport, Pittsford, and Rochester, NY.
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