Sleep Support
The dentists at Fioritto Family Dental are trained to diagnose and treat a wide range of oral health concerns, including sleep issues like obstructive sleep apnea related to the positioning of the jaw and soft tissues in the mouth during slumber. This sleep disorder interrupts your rest and causes any number of problems, from daytime sleepiness to bruxism.
Fioritto Family Dental has the expertise to offer sleep support to patients suffering from sleep apnea. What does this mean for you? What is sleep apnea and what benefits will you gain through sleep support? Here’s what you should know.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
This is the most common type of sleep apnea. It occurs when the muscles of your throat relax during sleep, causing your airway to collapse and obstruct your breathing. In other words, you stop breathing. Within several seconds, your brain signals your body to wake so you begin breathing again, but in severe cases, sleep could be disrupted dozens of times per hour throughout the night.
This can cause a variety of undesirable side effects associated with sleep deprivation, including fatigue, irritability, and inability to concentrate. You may have morning headaches or dry mouth when you wake up due to snoring, gasping, and choking when you stop breathing during the night. It can also be a contributing factor to bruxism, whereby you unconsciously clench your jaw or grind your teeth, often during sleep.
Oral Appliances
There are a couple of viable options when it comes to treating sleep apnea. For severe cases that are significantly disrupting your life and putting your health at risk, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine is often recommended. This includes a mask worn during sleep that’s attached by a hose to the machine. It creates a pathway of pressurized air that stops your throat from collapsing and ensures you can breathe all night.
However, for mild to moderate cases of obstructive sleep apnea, you might want to start with a custom dental appliance from Fioritto Family Dental. These appliances are fitted over the teeth and worn during sleep. They typically position the jaws in a way that prevents airway collapse, and can provide significant improvement in sleep quality for patients with milder sleep apnea. They could also be paired with a CPAP machine for more severe cases.
Benefits of Sleep Support
Our dentists proudly offer sleep support for patients suffering from sleep apnea, and you can gain several benefits from this service. First and foremost, the right treatments can ensure that your airway stays open at night, helping you to get a full night of rest. It can also help your partner to enjoy better sleep as it stops the loud snoring often associated with sleep apnea.
This, in turn, could eliminate daytime drowsiness and related symptoms, potentially help with issues like bruxism, and improve your overall health outlook. If you need sleep support, contact the qualified dentists at Fioritto Family Dental today at 440-951-5511 or online to schedule a consultation.
