There’s no denying the benefits. Your sleep quality and treating the risks associated with it are essential to your overall health.
The leading risk?
Sleep apnea.
This condition affects both the quality of your sleep and your health!
What’s the primary concern about a good night’s sleep?
It’s more than shutting your eyes and dozing off for a recommended amount of hours. Your sleep quality is impacted by unhealthy interruptions to your sleep cycles.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), as it’s technically called, is experienced by over 19 million people. If you’re one of them you are experiencing low quality sleep and potential health threats.
The major risk of sleep apnea
Your risks involve more than falling asleep and staying asleep. The major concern has to do with how you breathe when sleeping.
Sleep apnea affects your breathing patterns throughout your sleep cycles. When you’re breathing is delayed or interrupted you will awaken momentarily. This random cycle is why you feel tired or unrested during awake hours.
But the big risk is how your interrupted breathing periods affect your health.
Those conditions include:
- High blood pressure
- Heart failure
- Stroke
What happens during sleep apnea?
Falling asleep and staying asleep defines healthy sleep. Your mind and body experience rest and relaxation. Sleep apnea disrupts the rest your body craves for recovery.
And then there’s snoring…
It’s also a common issue connected to sleep apnea. You snore when your airway becomes too relaxed. A brief gasp or choking reflex will occur jarring you awake briefly due to a pause in your breathing.
That reflexive interruption to your breathing is also associated with sleep apnea. And this can occur a number of times while sleeping.
A dental solution for improved sleep and treating sleep apnea
A CPAP device is the go-to treatment for sleep apnea. The breathing apparatus is typically prescribed following a comprehensive sleep study and diagnosis.
A sleep study is a good initial step prior to any treatment for sleep disorders or sleep apnea. A medical diagnosis can reveal essential information about your sleep quality and any associated health risks.
CPAP technology is designed to monitor and provide healthy breathing during your sleep. Although effective, the device is bulky and uncomfortable for some.
Sleep dentistry offers you another alternative. We can create a custom-fitted oral appliance and prescribe it for use use during sleep.
Your appliance is designed to open your airway and also significantly reduce the snoring reflex that occurs during sleep apnea. The appliance aligns your jaw and produces more natural breathing as well.
The oral sleep device is comfortable to wear. And unlike the CPAP, it’s more convenient to use.
Wearing the oral appliance enables you to…
- Breathe without interruption
- Have less health risks
- Experience restful sleep
Contact your St. Petersburg Cosmetic Dentist Specialist, Dr. Roberto Macedo, DDS, MS, PhD. about your sleep related problems, including sleep apnea. Schedule your initial consultation to discuss sleep dentistry as a solution.