Sleep Apnea and Snoring

TREAT SLEEP DISORDERS IN CORNWALL, ON

Do you suffer from any of the following symptoms?

• Excessive daytime exhaustion
• Chronic loud snoring
• Severe dry mouth/throat in the mornings
• Disturbing others' sleep with gasping, snoring, or bolting upright during the night
• Silent pauses in your regular breathing during sleep

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you may have a sleep disorder called Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

WHAT IS SLEEP APNEA?

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) occurs when a person's airways become obstructed during sleep. This can happen for a number of reasons, but all of them result in the same thing: the inability to breathe.

During the day, we are both conscious and upright. These things keep a little bit of tension in the air passages, allowing them to stay open. At night, however, everything relaxes, including those same airways. Sometimes they relax a little too much and collapse in on themselves.

When the air has to squeeze through insufficient openings in the airway, it results in gagging, choking, and heavy snoring. When the air is blocked altogether, our brains panic and wake us up for just a moment. This causes the conscious tension to open our passages once more. We then fall back asleep without having ever known that we woke up.

This waking can happen anywhere from a few times a night, to as many as several hundred. Since we don't remember it happening, we often wake from a "full" night's sleep wondering why we still feel exhausted.

TREATING SLEEP APNEA

The Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD) is one of the most widely used appliances in the treatment of sleep disorders like sleep apnea. It is actually very similar to a sports mouthguard. MAD forces the lower jaw forward and down slightly, which in turn keeps the airway open.

Everyone's apnea will be slightly different and unique to them. The MAD device won't be a solution for every case, especially those that are most severe, but it will help with most situations. Breathing will become smoother. Sleep will become more restful.

CONTACT OUR OFFICE IN CORNWALL, ON

If you or anyone you know suffers from the symptoms of sleep apnea, call us right away to schedule an appointment. Don't let another exhausting night go by. Our Cornwall dentist and team are here to help all customers in the Cornwall, Long Sault, Morrisburg, and Ingleside areas in Ontario. Get the treatment - and the good night's sleep - you deserve!