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 What
is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a common disorder
that can be very serious. In sleep apnea,
your breathing stops or gets very shallow
while you are sleeping. Each pause in
breathing typically lasts 10 to 20 seconds
or more. These pauses can occur 20 to 30
times or more an hour.
The most common type of sleep apnea is
obstructive sleep apnea. During sleep,
enough air cannot flow into your lungs
through your mouth and nose even though you
try to breathe. When this happens, the
amount of oxygen in your blood may drop.
Normal breaths then start again with a loud
snort or choking sound.
When your sleep is upset throughout the
night, you can be very sleepy during the
day. With sleep apnea, your sleep is not
restful because: these brief episodes of
increased airway resistance occur many
times; you may have many brief drops in the
oxygen levels in your blood; you move out of
deep sleep into light sleep several times
during the night.
People with sleep apnea often have loud
snoring. However, not everyone who snores
has sleep apnea. Some people with sleep
apnea don’t know they snore.
Sleep apnea happens more often in people who
are overweight, but even thin people can
have it. Most people don’t know they have
sleep apnea. They don’t know that they are
having problems breathing while they are
sleeping. A family member and/or bed partner
may notice the signs of sleep apnea first.
Untreated sleep apnea can increase the
chance of having high blood pressure and
even a heart attack or stroke. Untreated
sleep apnea can also increase the risk of
diabetes and the risk for work-related
accidents and driving accidents.
What causes sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea happens when enough air
cannot move into your lungs while you are
sleeping. When you are awake, and normally
during sleep, your throat muscles keep your
throat open and air flows into your lungs.
In obstructive sleep apnea, however, the
throat briefly collapses, causing a pause in
your breathing. With pauses in breathing,
the oxygen level in your blood may drop.
Obstructive sleep apnea may occur with any
of the following conditions:
- Your throat muscles and tongue relax more
than is normal.
- Your tonsils and adenoids are large.
- You are overweight. The extra soft tissue
in your throat makes it harder to keep the
throat area open.
- The shape of your head and neck (bony
structure) results in somewhat smaller
airway size in the mouth and throat area.
With the throat frequently fully or partly
blocked during sleep, enough air cannot flow
into your lungs, even though your efforts to
breathe continue. Your breathing may become
hard and noisy and may even stop for short
periods of time (apneas).
Who is at
risk for obstructive sleep apnea?
Anyone can have obstructive sleep apnea. It
is estimated that more than 12 million
Americans have obstructive sleep apnea. More
than half the people who have sleep apnea
are overweight, and most snore heavily.
Sleep apnea is more common in men. One out
of 25 middle-aged men and 1 out of 50
middle-aged women have sleep apnea that
causes them to be very sleepy during the
day. Sleep apnea is more common in African
Americans, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders
than in Caucasians. Obstructive sleep apnea
can also occur in children who snore. If
your child snores, you should discuss it
with your child’s doctor or health care
provider.
If someone in your family has sleep apnea,
you are more likely to develop it than
someone without a family history of the
condition.
Adults who are more likely to have sleep
apnea:
- snore loudly
- are overweight
- have high blood pressure
-
have a decreased size of airways in the
nose, throat, or mouth
- have a family history of sleep apnea
What are the signs and symptoms of
sleep apnea?
Your family members may notice the
symptoms before you do. Otherwise, you will
likely not be aware that you have problems
breathing while you are asleep. The most
common signs of sleep apnea are: loud
snoring, choking or gasping during sleep,
and
fighting sleepiness during the day. Other
signs may include: morning headaches, memory
or learning problems, feeling irritable, not
being able to concentrate on work, mood
swings or personality changes, dry throat
when you wake up, or frequent urination at
night.
Removable snore guards
Anything that advances the lower
jaw forward (brings it into protrusion) will
tend to lift the tongue and epiglottis away
from the back of the throat, relieving some
of the constriction caused by the relaxation
of the muscles during sleep. In order to
wear a snore guard, it is imperative that
the patient has sufficient numbers of
healthy teeth in both upper and lower arches
for the appliance to attach to. If the
patient lacks healthy teeth, dental implants
may still make it possible to wear a
removable snore guard.
 Note
that removable snore guards separate the
upper and lower teeth and thus perform the
functions of a bruxing guard, in addition to
those of the snore guard. Thus a snore guard
may not only treat snoring and obstructive
sleep apnea, but it may treat the symptoms
of TMJ as well. However, in severe cases of
organic joint dysfunction due to TMJ, the
forward repositioning of the lower jaw may
exacerbate the damage to the jaw joint and
thus a snore guard may be inappropriate for
these patients.
Impressions
are taken of both the top and bottom teeth,
and models are poured in plaster. Then the
patient may be instructed to bite into a
piece of wax with his lower jaw protruded as
much as possible without straining. This is
called a bite registration. The models and,
if needed, the bite registration, are sent
to the lab. The laboratory returns the
finished appliance, which can take a number
of different forms depending on what the
dentist orders. |
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technology
children's care
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cosmetic fillings
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root canals
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mouth guards
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partial/complete dentures
snoring
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