Sleep Apnea Treatment
Do you or your partner snore loudly and excessively? Do you sleep the full eight hours and still wake up feeling tired? Do you drag yourself around all day feeling fatigued and have difficulty concentrating?
We all snore occasionally; but if you and your partner are losing sleep, or you always feel tired, you may be suffering from sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a debilitating condition that can have life-threatening consequences. But a simple, customized oral appliance offered at Gorrell Smiles may be all that’s needed to provide the relief you need.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Also called obstructive sleep apnea or OSA, the condition robs you of restful sleep and threatens your overall health and wellness.
When you sleep, the tongue and muscles in your throat soften and relax. For most people, this isn’t a problem; but for others, this movement completely closes the airway and makes it impossible for them to breathe.
During a sleep apnea episode, you essentially stop breathing. You’re not aware of it, but since your body is deprived of oxygen, it struggles to wake you up to breathe again. This is often accompanied by gasping or a loud snorting sound, and these episodes can occur hundreds of times a night.
A consistent lack of restful sleep can lead to problems such as:
- Daytime fatigue
- Irritability
- Depression
- Difficulty concentrating
- Drowsy-driving accidents
How Do I Know if I Have Sleep Apnea?
For over 15 years, Dr. Brent Gorrell has been providing our Mountain View, CA patients with a more comfortable alternative to a CPAP mask. But before we can prescribe the appropriate treatment for you, we need to understand how severe sleep apnea is in your case.
Our dentists will coordinate with your primary care doctor or sleep physician to perform a sleep study that monitors your breathing and heart rate while you sleep. If we find mild to moderate sleep apnea, we’ll consult with your doctor to make sure that a CPAP alternative is a safe choice.
Risk Factors for Sleep Apnea
There are many factors that can put you at higher risk for sleep apnea:
- Smoking
- Being male
- Being over age 40
- Being overweight
- Having large tonsils
- Using alcohol or sedatives
- Family history of sleep apnea
A Simple Solution for a Serious Condition
The standard treatment for sleep apnea has typically been a CPAP mask that keeps the airway open while you sleep. However, many patients avoid wearing it because they find it restricting and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this puts their health at risk.
At Gorrell Smiles, we have a simpler solution. Since a blocked airway causes sleep apnea, our customized FDA-approved oral appliance is designed to reposition your jaw slightly forward during sleep. This keeps your airway open, which allows you to breathe freely and sleep comfortably. It also reduces snoring so you and your partner can both get a good night’s sleep.
Without treatment, sleep apnea can lead to:
- High blood pressure
- Heart failure
- Irregular heartbeats
- Depression
- Diabetes
Call Us to Get the Rest You Need
Sleep apnea takes its toll on your health and your relationships, and inhibits your ability to be active and enjoy life. Many of our patients have found relief from the effects of sleep apnea with our conservative treatment approach.
The first step is to call our Mountain View, CA dental office at (650) 399-9657 to arrange an appointment with one of our dentists. We’ll talk to you about your symptoms and perform a comprehensive evaluation to decide what steps to take next. For your convenience in scheduling, we are open Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 7 PM and on Saturdays from 9 AM to 1 PM.
