About Sleep Apnea: Pasadena, Texas
Sleep apnea is a very hazardous condition marked by repeated interruptions in your breathing while you sleep. Often, these pauses in breathing can occur hundreds of times a night without you even realizing the pauses in breathing occur. If left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to serious health issues such as:
Depression
High blood pressure
Stroke
Heart attack
Diabetes
Sleep Apnea Cause:
Sleep apnea occurs when the tongue and muscles in the back of your throat relax and collapse over your airway. This blockage causes your breathing to stop, denying oxygen to your blood. In order to resume breathing and prevent death, your brain will awaken you from sleep. Therefore, one never gets deep sleep responsible for a restful nights sleep.
Sleep Apnea Symptoms
The most common symptom of sleep apnea is loud snoring. Usually, this will also affect your spouse’s ability to sleep through the night. Other sleep apnea symptoms include: excessive daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, insomnia, inability to concentrate, mood swings, decreased sex drive, and dry mouth or sore throat when you wake up.
Dr. Nugent will work with you to develop a customized sleep apnea treatment regimen that best addresses your unique condition. Based on the severity of your sleep apnea, Dr. Nugent may recommend:
- Lifestyle changes
- Oral appliance therapy
Lifestyle Changes
If you suffer from a mild case of sleep apnea, then simple lifestyle changes may help treat your condition. These include:
- Losing weight
- Quitting smoking
- Reducing alcohol intake
- Changing sleep positions to prevent your airway from collapsing
- Elevating your head while sleeping
Oral Appliance Therapy
Sleep apnea oral appliances are custom-fit to your mouth and work to prevent your airway from collapsing while you sleep. You will wear the sleep apnea appliance while you sleep at night. It will stabilize your jaw, tongue, and soft palate. Thus preventing airway obstruction and helping you breathe easily through the night.
The sleep apnea appliance uses the principle of cardiopulmonary resuscitation to keep your airway open to maintain proper air way space while you sleep. The mouth piece keeps your jaw in a forward position. This to prevents the muscles in your airway from collapsing. Dr. Nugent will adjust the device to achieve the best fit.
If you experience several of these symptoms we encourage you to seek evaluation for sleep apnea. Dr. Nugent is a family dentist located at 3421 Burke Rd STE A, Pasadena Texas.
