The importance of treating sleep apnoea and how your Sunbury dental office can help

Many people who are diagnosed with sleep apnoea opt against treatment, because they find CPAP intolerable. However, there are alternatives, including comfortable and convenient oral appliance therapy, available from Smile in Style Dental offices in Sunbury and Moonee Ponds.

What sleep apnoea does to your body

Snoring alone is harmless except for disturbing the person’s sleep partner. The sound indicates that air is moving through the airway. However, in many cases loud snoring follows a period of no breathing, which is called an apnoeic event.

• As the person reaches deep stages of sleep, muscles relax. In a healthy person, breathing continues as normal. In an apnoea patient, the airway collapses.
• Breathing stops, causing blood oxygen levels to drop.
• In response to physical stress, the brain releases adrenaline, causing heart rate and blood pressure to rise.
• The person begins to wake. As deep sleep evolves to lighter stages of sleep, the muscles become firmer.
• The airway begins to recover, and the person gasps for air. The passage of air through a partially restricted passage creates vibration, and the sound we call snoring.
• The person may not completely wake up. Once breathing resumes, he or she begins sinking back into deeper sleep.
• Muscles relax again, and the cycle repeats.

This can happen many times every hour, preventing the person from reaching the deepest stage of sleep. The immediate effects include fatigue, difficulty focusing, and daytime sleepiness. In the long term, untreated apnoea can increase your risk of stroke, heart attack, and other serious health conditions.

How oral appliances help

Unlike CPAP, dental treatment does not involve any machines or cumbersome masks. A small, custom made oral appliance is designed to comfortably hold the airway open. Book online at www.smileinstyle.com.au or call us at 03 8400 4104 (Moonee Ponds) or 03 8001 6021 (Sunbury) and schedule a consultation.
 
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