Sleep Apnoea & Snoring Solutions
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At Warrnambool Smile Dental, we understand that sleep apnoea and snoring disrupt the quality of your sleep and negatively impact your overall health and those around you. From poor sleep to mood swings and exhaustion, the impact of sleep apnoea and snoring on your health and lifestyle is serious.
Our team of experienced dental professionals is committed to providing personalised solutions that address the root causes of sleep apnoea and snoring, rather than just managing the symptoms. In other words, we want to help you breathe easier, sleep soundly and wake up feeling rejuvenated. Contact us today to learn more about our sleep apnoea and snoring treatments and how we can help you achieve a better night's sleep.
What Causes Snoring?
Almost every one of us tends to snore occasionally in our sleep, and that’s normal. When we sleep, the muscles and tissues surrounding the upper airway relax and vibrate. Snoring is the sound that arises when these loose tissues vibrate. Other factors causing snoring include obesity, nasal congestion, nasal polyps (small growths in the nose), sleeping on your back, swelling of tonsils and allergies can also obstruct the airflow causing you to snore.
While snoring is mostly normal and harmless, your airway can also become narrower, blocking air movement and causing more vibration and louder snoring. This is when you need to be alert. Loud and frequent snoring accompanied by gasping, choking and pauses in breath could indicate an underlying sleep disorder like sleep apnoea. This in turn can lead to serious health issues like sleep deprivation, fatigue, headaches and lack of trouble concentration. Therefore, snoring is not a symptom to be taken lightly.
What Is Sleep Apnoea?
Sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder that leads to interruptions in breathing during sleep. It happens when the airflow is blocked partially or entirely as the walls of your throat collapse and narrows when you breathe.
This sleep-related breathing disorder can cause you to stop breathing for about 10-90 seconds before it resumes. Breathing pauses can happen multiple times while you are asleep without you being aware. So, don’t brush it off if your partner, a friend or family member mentions anything about loud and frequent snoring accompanied by gasping or pauses in breathing. It’s important to seek a proper diagnosis and treatment because severe forms of the disorder such as obstructive sleep apnoea can also lead to serious health problems like cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure.
Symptoms Of Sleep Apnoea
Want to know if you have sleep apnoea? Here are some common symptoms to watch out for:
- Snoring followed by gasping/choking
- Fatigue from disturbed sleep
- Dry mouth or sore throat in the morning
- Headaches
- Feeling sleepy or exhausted throughout the day
- Poor memory and concentration
- Mood swings and irritability
- High blood pressure
- Low libido
If you have any of these symptoms, schedule an appointment with our team to get a professional diagnosis.
Types of Sleep Apnoea
There are three main types of sleep apnoea:
- Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA):This is the most common type and it occurs when the throat muscles relax and block the flow of air into your lungs.
- Central Sleep Apnoea (CSA):This occurs when your brain fails to send proper signals to the muscles that control breathing.
- Complex or Mixed Sleep Apnoea:It is a combination of both OSA and CSA.
What Causes Sleep Apnoea?
Sleep apnoea can affect anyone, including children. The most common causes of this sleep disorder includes:
- Age – your throat muscles relax more during sleep as you age.
- Obesity or overweight – fatty tissues can make your throat narrower.
- Alcohol tends to make your muscles relax more during sleep.
- Medical conditions such as low thyroid production.
- Certain medications.
- Nasal congestion and obstruction.
- Family history of OSA.
- Nervous system conditions.
If you experience sleep apnoea, speak to one of our experienced dentists. We can help uncover the specific triggers and create a treatment plan for a restful night’s sleep.
Treatment For Snoring & Sleep Apnoea
Sleep apnoea and chronic snoring are serious medical conditions that need professional attention. However, you don’t have to worry because they are treatable conditions. At Warrnambool Smile Dental, we offer convenient and effective treatments to help you achieve better sleep and improve the quality of life via various solutions.
CPAP Machines
CPAP machines involve wearing a breathing mask attached to a machine over your face at night. It transmits air pressure into the airway to keep your throat from collapsing while asleep. They are mainly used to treat moderate to severe cases of sleep apnoea. Alternative treatment options include sleep apnea and snoring appliances including:
Mandibular Advancement Splints (MAS)
Mandibular Advancement Splints or Mandibular Repositioning Devices are an easy and effective way to treat sleep apnoea. All you need to do is put it in your mouth before heading to bed. It will open up your airway by slightly pushing your lower jaw forward.
Tongue Retaining/Stabilising Devices
These devices contain a suction bulb that stabilises the tongue in a forward position. By stabilising the tongue, it prevents the tongue from sliding back down the throat. This keeps the airway open, preventing tissues at the back of your throat from vibrating.
Lifestyle Changes To Prevent Sleep Apnoea
There are a few lifestyle changes that you can try along with sleep apnoea appliances to help you sleep better at night. These include:
- Weight loss (if you are overweight)
- Reducing your alcohol intake
- Sleeping on your side instead of your back
- Quit smoking
- Eating a balanced diet
- Treat nasal allergies
Payment Plans We Offer
The cost of sleep apnoea appliances will depend on the type of treatment that is recommended to you and the severity of sleep apnoea. Our Warrnambool Smile dentists can provide an accurate cost estimate after a thorough assessment. We also offer flexible dental payment plans since we believe in providing affordable dental care for everyone.
Sleep Apnoea & Snoring Treatment At Warrnambool Smile
Are you tired of waking up every day not feeling well rested? We can help you improve your sleep quality with personalised solutions for sleep apnoea and snoring.
Our skilled dentists are experienced in treating patients with sleep apnoea and snoring and a result, we know exactly how to help you improve your sleep and quality of life.
When you choose Warrnambool Smile Dental, you assured that you will receive nothing short of the best dental care. Contact us or schedule a consultation for more information about sleep apnoea and snoring treatment.
We also offer other dental services including general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, emergency dentistry, children’s dentistry and much more to cater to all of your dental needs.
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