What Are the Myths and Facts About Sleep Apnea Treatment?
April 1, 2023

What Are the Myths and Facts About Sleep Apnea Treatment?

Dentists are concerned it’s more than just the teeth. Sleep apnea is an example of a medical condition related to your mode that your dental professional can help you with. Sleep apnea is a phrase used to refer to breathing and sleeping issues without precision. Some of the myths and facts you should know about sleep apnea include the following:

Myths

Some of the myths include:

It’s just Snoring

These are the relationship between sleep apnea and snoring. Snoring is only a symptom of sleep apnea, but it’s not sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes one to stop breathing throughout the night. Snoring sometimes happens to inform of snort, not when one gasps and begins breathing again.

It’s not a Big Deal

When you stop breathing as you sleep is potentially very serious. Even if you don’t wake up completely, all the breathing interruptions affect the quality of your sleep and contribute to fatigue and even risks of strokes and heart attack.

Sleep Apnea is a Concern for Seniors

Although sleep apnea is most common in people 40 years of age and older, it also affects people of any age.

Facts

Some of the facts include the following:

Your Airway Becomes Blocked

The type of sleep apnea is obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs when your tonsils, tongue or other tissues physically block your airway. The blockage prevents the flow of air physically as you breathe.

Weight Loss and Quitting Smoke Helps

Even a tiny amount of weight loss helps resolve some sleep apnea symptoms. So too, can stop smoking. If you’re overweight or smoke and have sleep apnea symptoms, you should ask our staff at Regina Y Powe DDS for recommendations about quitting smoking and losing weight.

Wearing a Mouthpiece can Help

A sleep doctor near you can help you to avoid the severe consequences of sleep apnea by providing a customized mouthpiece. The mouthpiece heads place your lower jaw and tongue in the right position to help prevent your airway from closing as you sleep.

Can Sleep Apnea get Better Without Treatment?

In some cases, sleep apnea resolves if you return to a healthy weight, but it might reoccur if you regain it. You should exercise regularly to help ease sleep apnea symptoms, even without weight loss. Also, try to get 30 minutes of moderate activity, such as brisk walking, on most days of the week.

Can Sleep Apnea be Fixed Naturally

The answer is yes, it can. Maintaining a healthy weight keeps your airways clear and reduces sleep apnea symptoms. Modest weight reduction in obese people helps eliminate the need for upper airway surgery.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea

The most common signs and symptoms of both include:
  • Experiencing morning headache
  • Excessive daytime sleepiness
  • Difficulty staying asleep or falling asleep
  • Gasping for air during sleep
  • Having episodes in which you stop breathing when you’re asleep. Another person would report this

Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea

When being diagnosed with sleep-disordered breathing in Frisco, TX, your doctor will evaluate your symptoms and sleep history, which you can share with the help of a person you share a bed or household with if possible. The doctor will help you determine your need for further evaluation. The evaluation involves the doctor monitoring your overnight breathing and other body functions during sleep at our clinic. Home sleep testing might also apply. Your doctor will provide you with simplified tests you’ll use at home to diagnose sleep apnea. These tests measure your airflow, blood oxygen level, breathing patterns, and heart rate. If you get abnormal results, your doctor will prescribe a therapy without further testing. However, if you have obstructive sleep apnea, the doctor might refer you to a throat, ear, or nose doctor to evaluate your blockage in the throat and nose. Also, a neurologist or a heart doctor evaluation might be necessary to check for cases of central sleep apnea.

Treatment

If you have milder cases of sleep apnea, your doctor may recommend you change your lifestyle by quitting smoking and losing weight. In case of nasal allergies, your doctor may recommend treatment for the allergies. Other treatment options are available if these measures don’t help improve your signs and symptoms or if your sleep apnea is severe. Specific devices help open up a blocked airway. Also, surgery might be necessary in other cases.
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