
Apr
We can all agree that snoring is annoying. Unfortunately, in some instances, snoring is more than a mere annoyance. If you are a frequent snorer, wake up feeling groggy, and experience frequent morning headaches, you could have sleep apnea — a severe sleeping condition with devastating effects on your overall health.
The good news is that sleep apnea and snoring are treatable. In fact, if you have mild to moderate sleep apnea, you may not have to do much to bid goodbye to sleep apnea and say hello to quieter, restful nights. If you live in Century City, California, and the surrounding communities, all you need to do is book an appointment with Meredith Levine, DDS, Inc., for sleep apnea relief.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) — the most common type of sleep apnea — occurs when the throat muscles relax too much when sleeping. As a result, your airway narrows down, and as the air tries to flow through the narrow channel, it vibrates against the walls of the throat, leading to snoring.
When you have complete airway obstruction, breathing pauses for about 10 seconds or more. When the brain notices the stoppage in breathing, it signals the body and causes your body to wake itself up. These episodes might occur up to a hundred times during the night, causing you to have fragmented sleep. This makes you feel fatigued during the day, even after sleeping throughout the night!
Other than raucous and chronic snoring, there are other symptoms that indicate you have sleep apnea. If you come to Dr. Meredith Levine with the following symptoms, the first step is to carry out a comprehensive diagnosis of sleep apnea:
When you have sleep apnea, you may not think about getting relief from a dentist. However, sleep apnea dentists have effective treatments if you have mild to moderate sleep apnea.
While there is no cure for sleep apnea, a dentist can help you manage the symptoms. Of course, not all dentists can treat sleep apnea. However, Dr. Levine has the experience of treating snoring and sleep apnea using oral appliance therapy. We have numerous custom-made dental devices to treat mild to moderate sleep apnea. The dental splints reposition the jaws and prevent the soft tissues from collapsing while sleeping. As a result, sleep apnea patients can enjoy a restful night’s sleep.
While there is no cure for sleep apnea, it doesn’t mean patients can’t live healthy lives. If sleep apnea is weighing you down, please dial (424) 358-3811 to book an appointment with Meredith Levine, DDS, Inc., for effective sleep apnea treatment.