Sleep apnea dentist in Ridgewood NJ
Jul 22, 2015 @ 02:22 PM — by
The most common type of sleep apnea is called obstructive sleep apnea. It's a condition that causes your breathing to become shallow when you sleep. Sometimes, it even stops completely. This happens repeatedly while you're asleep, and can occur hundreds of times during the night. At Ridgewood Dental Associates, we offer help to alleviate the effects of sleep apnea. Lifestyle changes, devices, and in the most severe cases surgery, are among the treatment options that our sleep apnea dentist in Ridgewood NJ can recommend for you. Left unaddressed, this is a condition that can be dangerous and lead to health complications, including heart problems.
It's important to know what signs may indicate sleep apnea so that you can seek the help of our sleep apnea dentist in Ridgewood NJ as soon as possible. Some, like fatigue, feeling tired even after a full night's sleep, headaches, dry mouth, sore throat upon waking up, night sweats, problems getting up in the morning, a feeling like you're choking or gasping during the night, and sexual dysfunction are ones that you can observe for yourself. One that you cannot, however, is snoring. If you have a sleeping partner, ask them to let you know if they have noticed you're snoring.
Treatment for mild sleep apnea can sometimes we as simple as making changes to your habits. Losing weight if you need to is a very effective way to mitigate the impact of sleep apnea. As little as 10% reduction in weight can have a positive effect as high as 26% in lessening sleep disturbance. Smoking, alcohol consumption, and sleeping pills are also known culprits in worsening your sleep apnea. Methods such as CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) will keep your airway open as you sleep. Oral appliance therapy (OAT), refers to dental appliances that our sleep apnea dentist in Ridgewood NJ may recommend to provide a similar benefit as CPAP.
Orthagnathic surgery or a tracheotomy are two procedures which may have benefits as a remedy. Our sleep apnea dentist in Ridgewood NJ will discuss with you if you are a good candidate for either of these should other simpler methods prove to be insufficient.