When you wake up in the morning, do you feel like you didn’t sleep at all even though you had eight hours of straight sleep?
Does your spouse tell you that you snore all night. At work, do you feel moody and make poor decisions? Are you overweight and tired through the day?
It could be time for you to visit a sleep doctor because you may be having symptoms of sleep apnea. Learn how to get tested for Sleep Apnea.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where a person experiences shallow breathing or pauses in breathing during sleep. The pauses will take about 10 seconds or more and may occur 30 times or more in an hour depending on the severity of the sleep apnea.
A major indicator of sleep apnea is snoring. Also, a huge red-flag of sleep apnea if there are sudden gasps for air while sleeping or experiences choking. This is because the person is literally choking to death. There is an obstruction causing a blockage of air into the lungs. The most common blockages of the airway are the tongue or soft tissue of the neck collapsing the airway. The brain sends out an emergency signal to regain breathing and the person comes out of sleep just enough to clear the obtrusion.
What does Sleep Apnea sound/look like?
This fragmented sleep can result to day sleepiness, inefficiency at work and a hard time paying attention and remembering important things. Furthermore, there are a numerous health issues that are associated with sleep apnea.
You may wonder why medical doctor, during your regular visits, was not able to detect the condition. Usually at a medical doctors visit they appointment is hyper-focused on one issue. Plus, the visits are short in duration so the medical doctor can’t spend a lot of time with you. However, dental visits are usually much longer than a medical doctor visit. Plus, some indicators of sleep apnea are visible to your trained sleep dentist.
To treat obstructive sleep apnea, Dr. Nugent can fabricate a mouth appliance called Mandibular Advancement Splint. This customized mouth piece is worn during sleep. It shifts the position of the lower jaw to a more downward and forward position. This allows for the airway to remain open.
Medical doctors usually prescribe a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. This machine opens up the person’s airway during sleep by ramming air down the throat. As you can guess, a lot of patients can’t tolerate sleeping with a mask covering their face while air is rammed down their throat. Patients have numerous complaints at CPAP therapy.
It is time you slept well every night. Let Dr. Nugent help you get rid of your snoring and CPAP machine. Oral appliances are a first line defense against mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Plus, oral appliances are recommended for patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea that can not wear a CPAP mask while they sleep.
Come visit our office at 3421 Burke Rd #1, Pasadena, Texas 77504 or call us at 832-487-0647.
