Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder, one that impacts millions and prevents a good night’s rest. To help you avoid the complications or poor rest, you may need treatment. To properly diagnose the disorder, your Olathe, KS, dentists could recommend a simple and comfortable home sleep study.
The Causes and Symptoms
With OSA, your breathing is suspended several times each night. This happens because the soft tissues in your throat and the back of your mouth become too relaxed and collapse, cutting off airflow. The brain essentially wakes you, even if you don’t remember this happening, so you resume breathing. For some this could happen hundreds of times each night and interrupt your sleep cycle enough that you feel exhausted the next day. Factors behind the disorder include a large neck circumference, deviated septum, sinus or allergy issues, obesity, sleeping on your back, and excessive alcohol consumption. While people in the teen and adult years of all genders could suffer from OSA, men 55 and older are at a higher risk. Symptoms include daytime drowsiness, moodiness, trouble staying focused, headaches, dry mouth, and waking up in the night choking or gasping for air.
The Importance of Treatment
Treatment is important because over time, OSA could grow worse and strain your immune system, so more frequent illness is common. In severe cases, this also places stress on your cardiovascular system, boosting the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and heart attack. For better quality of life and better health, you need to address your OSA.
The Home Sleep Study
If you experience the symptoms we discussed above, we can diagnose you without requiring you to rest in a lab setting. Instead, we send you home with a small device that sits at your bedside and records blood oxygen levels, sleep levels, and other factors that could indicate OSA. We then review the results when you return to the office, and create a plan to offer treatment. Instead of a CPAP machine, our treatment may simply involve a custom and comfbelt oral appliance, which is worn like a mouthguard as you rest at night.
If you have any questions about how we treat OSA, or if you think you need to undergo one of our home sleep studies, then contact our team today to learn more.
Do You Have Resting Issues?
We know how to help you enjoy a better night’s rest again. Schedule an appointment today and learn more about preventive and general dentistry. You can also call E-Care Dentistry in Olathe, KS, today at 913-210-1701. Find our office at 15010 S Black Bob Road Olathe, KS 66062. We also proudly serve patients from Overland Park, Lenexa, and all surrounding communities.