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Characterized by breathing disruption during sleep, sleep apnea is considered to be life-threatening especially when left untreated. Unfortunately, a lot of people with sleep apnea are not aware that they are suffering from it. If you are wondering if you have this sleep disorder, a visit to your London dentist might help.
The typical symptoms or signs of sleep apnea include the following:
• Sudden awakenings
• Loud snoring
• Frequent silences while sleeping
• Daytime sleepiness
Since sleep apnea involves the temporary cessation of breathing, the balance between carbon dioxide and oxygen is upset. This imbalance signals the brain so that you can restart your breathing. Of course, the breathing resumption disrupts your sleep and you will probably feel exhausted in the morning.
The most common type of this sleep disorder is obstructive sleep apnea. There are actually risk factors for this type including:
• Obesity
• Deviated septum
• Enlarged tongue
• Nasal congestion
• Relaxed tongue and throat muscles during sleep
Obviously being sleep deprived will mean diminished productivity during the day. in addition, the decreased supply of oxygen to your brain could cause serious healthy complications such as memory problems and heart diseases.
The good news is — your dentist could provide you with treatment options for your sleep apnea. It has been found that dental appliances or oral devices such as the Tongue retaining Device and Mandibular Repositioning device could open airway while sleeping.
Of course, your London dentist will have to determine first the severity of the sleep disorder in order to provide the proper treatment program.