How Can You Fix Snoring and Sleep Apnoea?
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for your overall health and wellbeing. If you or someone in your family has a problem with snoring or breathing interruptions during the night, this could impact on your physical and mental health in many ways.
A dentist might not be the first professional that comes to mind who can help with a sleep disorder, but their knowledge of the mouth and jaw can sometimes make dentists the best people to diagnose a problem and provide snoring or sleep apnoea treatments.
If you or your family are suffering as a result of snoring or breathing problems during the night, contact our team at Mosman 3D Dental to find out how our experienced dentists could help.
When is snoring a problem?
Mild or infrequent snoring isn’t usually a cause for concern, but if snoring causes you or people you live with to lose sleep, this could leave you feeling tired and fatigued during the day. This could in turn affect your work or academic performance or even cause serious accidents if you drive or operate machinery while tired.
Loud snoring and frequent breathing interruptions in the night may be signs of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). This is a serious sleep disorder that happens when the airways close completely, before air is forced from the lungs to clear the obstruction. This shock can cause the sleeper to wake up suddenly with a choke or gasp.
Sleep apnoea and chronic sleep deprivation are linked with numerous health risks, including high blood pressure (hypertension), heart problems, stroke and diabetes. People with untreated sleep apnoea may also be more likely to experience other problems such as anxiety or depression, so it’s important to seek professional care.
Snoring and sleep apnoea treatments
Treatments for snoring and sleep apnoea aim to correct the underlying problem, not just the symptoms. Your dentist may provide advice or treatments themselves, or they may recommend you to another qualified practitioner if needed. Depending on your individual causes and symptoms, treatment options may include:
Lifestyle changes
Making changes to your sleeping routine, diet or daily habits can lower your risk factor for snoring and sleep apnoea, and may even stop the problem without the need for further treatment. This could involve changing your sleep habits, like going to bed and waking up at regular times and not sleeping on your back, and other improvements like losing weight, quitting smoking, or avoiding alcohol and sleeping tablets.
Nasal treatments
If a breathing obstruction is caused by a sinus infection or other issues with your nose or roof of your mouth, a doctor may recommend treatments such as nasal sprays, strips or dilators.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
If you have sleep apnoea, a doctor or sleep physician may recommend using a CPAP machine or variant. This involves breathing through a face mask worn over your nose or mouth at night to hold your airways open and prevent obstructions.
Mandibular advancement splint (MAS)
Another treatment for sleep apnoea or other snoring issues is wearing an oral appliance at night that moves your jaw forwards to open the airway. These splints are custom made by dentists to fit comfortably over your teeth, similar to a mouthguard.
Orthodontic treatment
Issues such as mouth breathing that cause snoring may sometimes be corrected using braces or aligners to bring your jaws into better alignment.
Surgery
If other treatments are not successful, or your breathing disorder is caused by an abnormality, surgery to remove excess tissue or reshape structures of the nose or throat may be the only option, though this is rare.
Snoring and sleep apnoea treatment in Mosman
Our dentists at Mosman 3D Dental have completed specialised training and work with sleep specialists to diagnose and help manage snoring problems and obstructive sleep apnoea. To find out how we could help you, call our friendly team today on (02) 9969 8610 or contact us.