Are you suffering from sleep apnea and its uncomfortable side effects? At Clearwater Dental Associates, our dental team creates custom-made night guards to treat sleep apnea as a less invasive alternative for our patients in Clearwater, FL and beyond!
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when your muscles relax too much during sleep, causing your airway to collapse. Sleep apnea can lead to hypertension, memory loss, mood changes, and severe fatigue. Our non-invasive, custom-crafted oral appliances are designed to help fight this condition and restore your quality of life!
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your muscles relax during sleep, allowing the soft tissue to collapse and block your airway. As a result, patients may stop breathing up to hundreds of times a night, for anywhere from a few seconds to more than a minute at a time. Snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, memory problems, irritability, fatigue and insomnia are all signs that you could be losing shut-eye and valuable health to sleep apnea.
Left untreated, sleep apnea can be a potentially life threatening condition. It can increase the risk for other serious health problems such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression and more.
Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea
Patients who suffer from sleep apnea often experience the following symptoms:
- Heavy Snoring
- Periodic Loss Of Breath While Sleeping
- Struggling To Breathe While Sleeping
- Constant Fatigue And Lack Of Energy
- Weight Gain
- Depression
- Dry Throat
- Irritability & Mood Swings
- Worsening ADHD
Is Sleep Apnea Dangerous?
According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, sleep apnea affects 22 million Americans. If you have been diagnosed with or suspect that you have this condition, it is essential to understand how it might affect your heart health: Stroke, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), Depression, Irregular Heartbeat, and Diabetes.
Treatments For Sleep Apnea
The traditionally prescribed treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. It involves sleeping with a face mask connected by tubing to a constantly running machine. Although CPAP is effective, up to half of patients don’t adhere to the treatment. At Clearwater Dental Associates, your dentists can provide an alternate sleep solution with oral appliance therapy!
We make custom sleep apnea appliances in our office designed to open airways during sleep. Patients with mild or moderate cases of the condition often prefer oral appliances over bulky CPAP machines. No matter what treatment you require, we will be there for you every step of the way!
Oral Appliance Therapy for Sleep Apnea
We provide oral appliance therapy an an effective, non-invasive treatment option for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea that fits easily into your lifestyle. An oral dental appliance looks like a sports mouth guard and can be worn as you sleep.
If you have concerns about snoring and sleep apnea, make an appointment. Our team can recommend a sleep physician at our practice who will help get your treatment started, or we can fit you with a custom oral appliance right here at our office!
Schedule Your Sleep Apnea Screening With Clearwater Dental Associates Today!
Don't allow sleep apnea to obstruct your quality of life or health! Call Clearwater Dental Associates to learn more about dental sleep medicine, and schedule your sleep apnea screening.
