Is your snoring normal or could it be associated with sleep apnea? Sleep apnea is a common and serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. It is estimated to affect as many as 1 in every 15 Americans.
Sleep apnea has been associated with risk factors for serious medical conditions such as stroke, diabetes, cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure, abnormal heart beats, and heart attack.
Signs of sleep apnea include, but not limited to the following: gasping, choking or snorting during sleep, feeling tired or fatigued even with a full night’s sleep, waking up tired or with a headache, and problems with memory and concentration.
There are many approaches to treating sleep apnea to include oral appliances, CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine to even surgical intervention. For most people, a CPAP machine will be the first course of treatment recommended. Here at Dentistry at the Center, we will work with your physician when an oral appliance is indicated. We are specially trained to provide oral appliances to manage sleep apnea as an alternative to a CPAP machine.
