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Sleep Apnea Treatment in Chestnut Hill, MA
Sleep apnea is a commonly occurring and potentially dangerous sleep disorder characterized by heavy, chronic snoring. Individuals with sleep apnea typically experience breathing interruptions while they sleep. As a result, the individuals may suddenly stop breathing and then gasp for air, a pattern that usually continues throughout the night.
Unaddressed sleep apnea can expose you to numerous health complications, including making you more susceptible to heart disease, hypertension, and mood disorders. Sleep apnea is more prevalent in men. However, women are also at risk of developing this condition.
While snoring once in a while shouldn’t bother you too much, heavy, persistent snoring should be a cause for concern. Hammond Pond Dental Group offers patient-tailored interventions for sleep apnea. If you’re seeking sleep apnea treatment in Chestnut Hill, MA, get in touch with our dentist near you for an evaluation.
Symptoms and Causes of Sleep Apnea
Besides snoring, other key symptoms that point to sleep apnea include:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Waking up with a dry mouth and a headache
- Irritability
- Breathing through the mouth
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Sleep deprivation
To understand the causes of sleep apnea, it’s important first to acknowledge the two main types of this condition—obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea occurs if the throat and other parts of the airway collapse as you sleep. As a result, airflow is hindered, resulting in snoring. Snoring is the loud, vibrating sound that the air makes as it flows through collapsed airways. In contrast, the brain’s failure to send proper signals to the respiratory system causes central sleep apnea. As a result of this communication breakdown, breathing is interrupted.
At Hammond Pond Dental Group, we focus on identifying the root cause of your problem, as this allows us to recommend treatments that respond effectively to your needs.
Sleep Apnea Treatment Process
Our dentists in Chestnut Hill, MA, begin by asking you about your symptoms, medical history, family history, and other relevant information. After an initial evaluation, our dentists will determine if there’s a need for a sleep study. A sleep study is an in-depth evaluation of your breathing patterns, heart rate, oxygen levels, and other physiological factors as you sleep. It may be conducted via a home sleep test or monitored overnight sleep study (polysomnography). The outcome of the sleep study determines the next steps.
Individuals diagnosed with sleep apnea usually respond well to oral devices that keep the airways open during sleep. Such oral devices include tongue-retaining devices and mandibular advancement devices, which hold the tongue and jaw, respectively, in their correct positions to prevent airflow restriction.
Besides oral devices, our Sleep Apnea dentist near you in Chestnut Hill, Brookline, MA, may also recommend other interventions such as lifestyle adjustments.
Do you want to sleep through the night and reclaim your productivity and well-being? Contact Hammond Pond Dental Group today to learn more about sleep apnea treatment in Brookline, MA.