What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder, occurs when a person’s breathing is interrupted while sleeping. There are two types of sleep apnea; obstructive and central, which can affect anyone at any age, even children.

1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea occurs when the upper airway becomes repeatedly blocked during sleep, reducing and sometimes completely stopping airflow.

2. Central Sleep Apnea- With central sleep apnea, the person’s airway is not blocked, instead the brain does not send the signals needed to breathe.

To determine if you have or are at risk for sleep apnea, talk to your healthcare provider. Your doctor may use sleep studies to record the number of episodes of slow or stopped breathing, the number of central sleep apnea events detected per hour, and also determine whether oxygen levels in the blood are lower during these events.

Several treatment options can be determined by your healthcare practitioner. Breathing devices, lifestyle changes, surgery and mouthpieces are common sleep apnea treatments. If left undiagnosed or untreated sleep apnea can lead to serious complications such as heart attack, glaucoma, diabetes, cancer, and cognitive and behavioral disorders.

How can Boston Dental help?

Dental devices can be made to help relieve snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. The main purpose of the dental devices is to keep the airway open during sleep, by moving the tongue or lower jaw forward and upward, which moves the tongue forward, to increase the size of the upper airway, to help the patient breath. Such devices are specifically designed by dentists with special expertise in treating sleep apnea. They are generally easy to use and can be used alone or in combination with other treatment plans for sleep-related diagnosis.
Boston Dental specializes in crafting and creating the right dental device to suit your lifestyle. Our sleep specialist will work with your physician to help you find the right dental device. Once achieved, you will need to follow up with your dentist to ensure that the device fit is still good and to reassess your sleep apnea symptoms.

Some Advantages of Dental Devices:

• Comfortable and easy to wear

• Small and convenient

• Stabilizes the lower jaw and tongue for better breathing