The most common type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. In this condition, the oral tissues in your mouth and throat relax during sleep. This blocks the airway for a few seconds at a time, which interrupts your breathing.
Lack of sleep or poor sleep can increase the risk of chronic inflammation, which can cause increased sleep/airway problems and harm your overall health. Dr. Gill is in a prime position to assess and manage airway issues, and can help you recognize common symptoms such as mouth breathing, snoring, and even uncontrolled high blood pressure.
Sleep apnea is more than just a snore. It’s a serious health condition. And as part of our dedication to oral and whole-body health, Ivory Dental Studio can help. Dr. Gill will screen and collaborate with your medical doctor to recommend the appropriate treatment for patients with sleep apnea.
Your dentist in Niagara Falls collaborates with other specialists in your life, such as your sleep physician, ENT, or myofunctional therapist to find the perfect solution for you. She'll strive to find the right route of treatment so you can breathe clearly again and enjoy the restful sleep you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Call today to schedule a consultation.
There is usually no single cause of OSA. A variety of factors can contribute, including obesity, using sedative drugs or alcohol, having a thick neck circumference, a narrow airway, being elderly, smoking, or having a family history of apnea.
People with sleep apnea tend to snore loudly and have noticeable pauses in breathing. Choking and gasping noises are also common. You may feel daytime drowsiness, which can inhibit your ability to focus and cause you to feel irritable or moody.
CPAP is the gold standard and usually the preferred treatment for severe sleep apnea. However, mild to moderate sleep apnea can be managed with an oral appliance, which is sometimes better tolerated than CPAP. Oral appliances pull the lower jaw forward, opening the airway.
The main difference is in the symptoms. Adults typically exhibit signs of fatigue, such as drowsiness during the day. On the other hand, kids usually have behavioral issues that may be harder to identify. This could include trouble concentrating or behaving, or hyperactivity.
It is best to detect and address sleep apnea in kids early on. Early detection saves unnecessary surgery, prolonged orthodontics, and most of all behavior issues due to poor sleep quality. There are many factors that can lead to improper mouth breathing, such as poor jaw development and allergies leading to nasal blockage.
Sleep apnea is diagnosed by your sleep physician, who will recommend you to undergo an extensive sleep study done overnight at a sleep lab. At the lab in Niagara Falls, you will be hooked to special devices that measure your AHI score. If your AHI score is less than 5, you have mild sleep apnea. If your AHI score is within the 15-30 range, you have severe sleep apnea. Treatment is usually recommended by your sleep physician based on your AHI score.
Yes. While CPAP is the gold standard in managing sleep apnea, oral appliances are recommended by your sleep physician if you have mild to moderate sleep apnea. Lifestyle changes and sometimes surgery is also recommended.
Modern sleep apnea machines are much quieter than the CPAP machines used in the past. They are only about 30 decibels, which is about the same noise level as a whisper in a quiet room.
Obstruction of airway is very dangerous and can lead to cardiovascular events like a heart attack or stroke. Lower levels of oxygen leads to reduced oxygen saturation in the blood, which elicits our fight or flight response. This fight or flight response then triggers the release of cortisol in the bloodstream, which increases your heart rate and blood pressure. If this happens night after night, stress hormone levels stay chronically elevated. This affects your insulin regulation in the blood stream and may increase your risk of developing insulin resistant type 2 diabetes. Cortisol also influences dysregulation of the metabolic hormones ghrelin and leptin, which can increase the risk of obesity. Your gastric reflux risk increases due to airway obstruction/sleep apnea as well. Daytime fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, and depression can all result from poor sleep and increase your risk of motor vehicle accidents.
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