Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is caused by pauses in breathing while a person sleeps. These pauses cause the person to wake up repeatedly throughout the night, making them exhausted during the daytime and difficult to stay awake during daytime hours. Most sleep apnea patients are prescribed a C-PAP mask to wear when they sleep. The mask pumps pressurized air into the person’s airwaves, which are opened up by the machine. A pulmonologist will test for sleep apnea with polysomnogram, or a sleep study. This test is done during an overnight sleeping period. If the patient suffers from five or more episodes of skipped breathes per hour than their case is considered to be clinical. Sleep apnea has three forms; central, obstructive and complex.

Most sleep apnea cases are noticed by anyone other than the patient. Most patients do not notice a change in their breathing pattern when they are asleep or even when they awake. The problem is usually noticed by someone else in the room at the time. Some patients go years, even decades, before getting sleep apnea diagnosed and by that time have become accustomed to the daytime sleepiness fatigue associated with the disease.

The most common form of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea. This is where the walls of the throat relax too much during sleep; ultimately blocking a person’s airwaves. The most chronic of cases can lead to a form of congestive heart failure. People with obesity problems are more susceptible to chronic sleep apnea because of low muscle tone and soft tissue around the airway. Symptoms include loud snoring, a restless sleep, and fatigue or sleepiness during the daytime.

Doctors recommend that patients with chronic sleep apnea avoid alcohol, muscle relaxants, quit smoking and lose weight. Many patients have found that sleeping at a 30 degree angle, or in a recliner, has helped them sleep through the night because their airwaves are less constricted. If all of these fac tors and the use of a C-PAP machine do not help to alleviate chronic sleep apnea then surgery to remove and tighten the tissue and widen the airwave is always an option.

People who suffer from chronic sleep apnea are more prone to having a stroke, developing high blood pressure, and even a 30 percent higher risk of having a heart attack or even premature death than those who do not suffer from the disease.

Aside from patients using a C-PAP to sleep peacefully, a dentist who specializes in sleep disorders can provide Oral Appliance Therapy. It is a mouthpiece that moves the lower jaw which helps to open up the airwaves. This form of therapy is usually used in patients with mild to moderate forms of obstructive sleep apnea.

Any surgery performed on the throat or mouth of a patient with obstructive sleep apnea can be deadly if the proper precautions and proper care is not taken. The lining of the mouth and throat can swell as a result of certain an algesics and these patients should be under an intensive monitoring program after any surgery.

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