John VorhausDo you suffer from sleep problems such as sleep apnea or snoring? If you’re looking for dental sleep care, in New York and Melville, NY, contact Dr. Barry Chase. Chase Dental Sleepcare provides treatment for a wide variety of conditions, including sleep apnea, oral appliance therapy, and snoring solutions.
What is Sleep Apnea?
It can often be difficult for you to know if you have sleep apnea, and getting a diagnosis may take a while. If you have any of the following symptoms, speak to your doctor or a dental sleep care specialist. Sleep apnea is a condition that affects your breathing during sleep. If you suffer from sleep apnea, your breathing will stop and start during the night while you’re sleeping. There are a few different types of sleep apnea, but the most common is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Sleep Apnea Symptoms
If you suffer from this condition, you’ll only get symptoms when you’re asleep. This often makes the diagnosis difficult. Common symptoms include your breathing stopping and starting while you sleep. This may cause you to make gasping, choking, or snorting noises during the night. You may also snore loudly and wake up a lot during the night.
Sleep Apnea also causes day time symptoms; these include feeling very tired as you’re not getting enough quality sleep at night. As a result, you may find concentrating difficult, suffer from mood swings, and wake up with a headache.
It’s essential to get help if you think you may have sleep apnea. If your partner has noticed that you have one or more of the symptoms, it may be useful to take them with you to your appointment. Sleep apnea can become a serious and, in some cases, life-threatening condition if it isn’t diagnosed and treated correctly.
Tests to Confirm You Have Sleep Apnea
If your doctor or dentist thinks you could have sleep apnea, they’re likely to refer you to a sleep clinic where tests will be carried out. A sleep specialist might give you a device to wear for a few days to a week. This will check vital signs such as breathing and heartbeat while you’re asleep. This type of test can be done at home, but in some cases, you might be asked to stay at the sleep clinic overnight for further monitoring.
These types of tests will show if you have sleep apnea. Sleep specialists will also be able to determine the severity of your condition. An AHI score is used to measure how often you stop breathing while sleeping and how severe it is.
Sleep Apnea Treatments
Sleep apnea doesn’t always need to be treated. If it’s mild, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on your condition to ensure it doesn’t get any worse, but treatment isn’t needed. In more severe cases, you’ll have to use a device called a CPAP machine. This machine will pump air into a mask, that you’ll wear nightly over your mouth and nose.
A CPAP machine will help to improve your breathing while you’re asleep. It will do this by stopping your airways from closing and becoming too narrow. This will also help to improve the quality of your sleep, and you’ll feel less tired during the day. A CPAP machine will also help to reduce common problems associated with sleep apnea, such as high blood pressure.