Airway & Sleep Apnea Treatment
Persistent loud snoring that keeps your partner awake at night may be more than an annoyance—it may be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea or OSA.
At Unkel & Shibilski, we offer non-invasive treatment for airway & sleep apnea so our patients can find relief and return back to getting a full, restful night’s sleep.
What Is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea or OSA is a serious sleep-related breathing disorder that is potentially life-threatening.
As our bodies prepare for sleep, the muscles in the mouth and throat soften and relax. With OSA, the tongue falls back against the throat and blocks the airway. Breathing stops, and the lack of oxygen causes the brain to rouse the body enough to breathe, often resulting in a loud gasp or snorting sound.
Apnea is defined as a cessation of breathing for ten seconds or longer, but episodes can last a minute or longer for some people. And it’s not uncommon for them to experience these episodes hundreds of times each night.
Health Risks Associated with Sleep Apnea
Without a free exchange of air, the amount of oxygen in the body decreases. Untreated OSA increases the risk for:
- Heart attack
- Irregular heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Congestive heart failure
- Stroke
Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
The constant waking and struggling to breathe disrupts restful sleep, and you wake up feeling exhausted without understanding why. Your bed partner may alert you about long pauses in breathing or loud gasps for air.
However, If you live alone, you may not be aware that you have sleep apnea, but the symptoms will show up in the form of:
- Excessive daytime fatigue
- Inability to concentrate
- Mood changes or depression
- Short-term memory loss
- Drowsy driving accidents
Who’s at Risk for Airway Issues or Sleep Apnea?
Risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea include:
- Obesity
- Being male
- Chronic nasal congestion
- Large neck or small jaw
- Narrow airway
- Smoking
There are a few methods to manage sleep apnea and airway issues including recent FDA cleared options. Please call the team at Unkel & Shibilski Dental to find out how our office can help with any sleep and airway issues. You can help minimize sleep apnea symptoms by making lifestyle changes like losing weight, quitting smoking, and cutting alcohol consumption.
How Do You Treat Sleep Apnea?
- Our goal is to help promote healthy nasal breathing.
- Nasal breathing prepares the air for our lungs by warming, filtering, and humidifying it.
- We create more functional space for the tongue. We strengthen, condition, and reposition it up and forward so it can be the scaffold for the upper jaw. We also promote proper swallowing and speech.
- Our Guide System works to guide the growth and development of the upper and lower jaw while promoting proper tongue position and muscle function as well as helping a child to nasally breathe.
- Our appliances help to maintain and open the airway.
- These appliances are FDA-cleared to treat mild to moderate OSA.
- We have appliances that manage the airway as well as an appliance that is FDA-cleared to treat migraine headaches, TMD, and bruxism, and facilitate nasal dilation to assist in proper nasal breathing.
At Unkel & Shibilski Dental, we now have the option to provide an at-home sleep test that is 98% as accurate as the hospital based sleep tests to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea and sleep patterns.The equipment monitors your blood oxygen level, heart rate, blood pressure, and brain waves to determine the severity of your sleep apnea. These tests are interpreted by sleep physicians who will ultimately provide the diagnosis and level of sleep apnea.
Get the Restful Sleep Your Body Needs
If you or someone you know experience any of the sleep apnea symptoms listed above, please call our Inverness dental office in Englewood, CO, to schedule an airway and sleep apnea consultation appointment.
