Treating Sleep Apnea
sleep apnea is something that many people throughout the United States deal with. Sleep apnea occurs for a few reasons, but the two most popular are obesity and age. The older you get the more sleep apnea can become a real risk in your life. The more you weigh the higher your chances of sleep apnea may be. So how do you get rid of this serious disorder and how do you know if you have it? Well, let’s find out below.
Lifetime Smiles serves the residents of Austin, TX. We offer a variety of services that range from sedation dentistry to helping to diagnose sleep apnea. Recently at Lifetime Smiles, we’re proud to say that we have all new pieces of digital technology. Each of the pieces of technology we purchased is meant to make your life a little easier as well as perfect our treatment plans. While dentistry is very in depth, the addition of digital technology allows us to treat you better and be able to diagnose your oral issues much more accurately. One of the ways you can make your life a little easier is by diagnosing and helping to treat sleep apnea.
Diagnosing Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a very real disorder that can be very detrimental to the way you live your life. It causes problems for your breathing while you sleep. The symptoms of sleep apnea range from being exhausted because you didn’t get a good night’s rest, to snoring, to waking up with searing headaches. Sleep apnea affects your entire body and it’s vital that you have it diagnosed as soon as possible. If you don’t have your sleep apnea properly diagnosed, you could be dealing with high blood pressure and cardiovascular issues.
At Lifetime Smiles, we can help with diagnosing sleep apnea. One of the pieces of new equipment that we purchased is the CT Scan – 3D Imaging. This piece of machinery can help to diagnose sleep apnea. It will view your airways and do a full mouth overview to see with impeccable accuracy. The CT Scan – 3D Imaging will help to find any of those oral issues that might be slipping through the cracks. It also makes it easier to diagnose sleep apnea because it gives the dentist a full mouth scan to see everything that’s going on in there. It’s vital that after you get the diagnosis that you talk to your doctor to see what’s the right course of action for you.
Ways To Treat Sleep Apnea
Even though sleep apnea is something no one wants to deal with, it can be treatable. While it’s a real hazard, you don’t have to worry about not having a cure. If you don’t take the time to get it diagnosed and create a treatment plan for it, then it could lead to serious health issues. Below are some of the ways that sleep apnea can be treated.
CPAP Therapy
CPAP therapy is a type of treatment that uses a specialized facemask. This specialized facemask is connected to a machine that helps to regulate your breathing. It will help to make your breathing patterns more normalized and it will make sure that you’re safe while you sleep. With CPAP therapy, you don’t have to worry about stopping breathing in the middle of the night because the machine will make sure that you are breathing in a normal capacity.
Oral Appliance Therapy
Another treatment method is oral appliance therapy. This type of therapy uses a device such as an oral appliance that is in the shape of a mouth guard. The oral appliance therapy will keep the jaw well-positioned when you sleep, so that air may make its way into your passageways because it remains open all night.
Surgical Therapy
Lastly, for those who don’t mind surgery, surgical therapy is a last-resort option. Surgical therapy is a more invasive procedure and can be seen as a last resort, but it has very high success rates and can help you lead a more normal life.
If you have sleep apnea or you think you do, make sure that you talk to your doctor. It’s important that you have the proper treatment implemented, so you stay healthy. Keep in mind at Lifetime Smiles, we offer a variety of services such as sedation dentistry, pediatric, and general to ensure you have great oral health.