If you’ve been told you snore loudly or stop breathing in your sleep, you may have sleep apnea, and, unfortunately, it’s more than just an annoyance. Sleep apnea is a serious condition that affects how well your body and brain get oxygen at night.
Without treatment, sleep apnea can impact nearly every system in your body and put your long-term health at risk. The good news is that treating sleep apnea can help you avoid complications.
Read on as Dr. David Blaustein explains the dangers of untreated sleep apnea and how the Chelsea Dental Aesthetics team here in New York City can help.
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where your breathing pauses temporarily. These pauses in breathing can last seconds at a time and happen dozens of times throughout the night.
There are three types of sleep apnea:
Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by the tissues in your throat relaxing and blocking airflow.
Snoring is a common sign of sleep apnea, but it’s not the only one. Sleep apnea can cause morning headaches, dry throat, and increased nocturia (bathroom visits during the night).
When your body is deprived repeatedly of oxygen during sleep, it creates a ripple effect:
Sleep apnea raises your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke, and these conditions tend to be more severe.
People with severe, untreated sleep apnea face up to a threefold higher risk of death — especially from heart disease — compared with those without the condition.
Interrupted sleep leaves you feeling drained, affecting focus, mood, and productivity. That alone can cause ripples in your work productivity, social life, and safety. For example, driving while fatigued can put you at risk of an accident.
Sleep apnea can lead to intermittent drops in blood oxygen levels (hypoxemia) and sleep fragmentation. Hypoxemia and interrupted sleep can lead to insulin resistance and higher blood glucose levels, whether or not you’re overweight.
That means it can contribute to weight gain, insulin resistance, and the development of Type 2 diabetes.
Mouth breathing and poor sleep quality can worsen conditions such as gum disease and teeth grinding.
Sleep apnea is typically treated with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, but many people find the device cumbersome and difficult to clean.
You don’t always need CPAP to treat sleep apnea. Dr. Blaustein can provide oral appliance therapy, a customized device that keeps your airway open by repositioning your jaw and tongue while you sleep. For many people, this option is comfortable, easy to use, and highly effective.
Note: Dental solutions won’t work for nonobstructive sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea, when your brain doesn’t send the right signals to breathe while you sleep, requires a CPAP machine. However, it accounts for just 1% of sleep apnea sleep test results.
Before fitting you with oral appliance therapy, Dr. Blaustein reviews your health history, confirms you have obstructive sleep apnea, takes X-rays, and discusses oral appliance therapy with you.
Loud snoring, morning headaches, and constant daytime fatigue aren’t just inconveniences — they could be warning signs of sleep apnea. An evaluation is the first step toward better sleep and better health.
To schedule your consultation, call our office in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan or request an appointment online today.
