For patients who have sleep apnea, a simple night of sleeping is anything but that. Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is a condition that causes you to stop breathing in your sleep, and it’s often marked by increasingly loud periods of snoring. At our Ankeny, IA, dental office, we can often help patients with sleep apnea rest better and more peacefully with a custom-designed sleep appliance. By making it easier to breathe consistently throughout the night, a custom appliance can also make it easier for patients to deal with their sleep apnea.
It’s about more than just your snoring
Obstructive sleep apnea is often confused for just a strong habit of snoring. That’s because the obstruction in your airway that causes OSA also causes you to snore increasingly more loudly as it closes your airway. However, unlike a regular snoring habit, sleep apnea will cause you to stop breathing, and therefore stop snoring, periodically throughout the night. Though chronic snoring itself can be problematic due to its effect on your cardiovascular system, the constant cessation of your breathing poses a much bigger problem for your overall health and wellbeing.
You might not notice you have a problem
Despite the heavy influence sleep apnea can have on your wellbeing, the condition itself isn’t always obvious to patients who have it. That’s largely because the interruptions to your breathing and sleeping patterns don’t always consciously wake them. Therefore, they can believe they sleep peacefully throughout the night in spite of their sleep disorder. If you have sleep apnea and don’t realize it, then you may experience signs of sleep deprivation, such as chronic tiredness and fatigue during the day, and not understand why.
There are consequences to ignoring sleep apnea
Once sleep apnea is diagnosed, it should be addressed as soon as possible. The effects of losing deep sleep and intaking limited amounts of oxygen every night can have a cumulative effect on everything from your cardiovascular health to your daily quality of life. Untreated sleep apnea can therefore raise your risks of chronic conditions such as heart disease, respiratory problems, and much more. If you have sleep apnea, then we may help you treat it with a custom-made appliance, designed to help keep your airway clear and unobstructed while you sleep.
Learn how to deal with having sleep apnea
If you have sleep apnea, then dealing with it as soon as possible is the best way to avoid the potentially negative consequences it can have on your wellbeing. For more information, schedule a consultation by calling Dental Impressions in Ankeny, IA immediately at (515) 965-0230. We also proudly serve patients who live in Alleman, Elkhart, Bondurant, and all surrounding communities.
