Good sleep is essential for good health. An estimated 54 million adults
in the U.S. suffer sleep deprivation from obstructive sleep apnea, and
80% of those with moderate and severe cases are undiagnosed. All considered,
about 20% of adults have at least mild symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea.
If sleep apnea goes undiagnosed and untreated for long, it can cause various
health concerns.
Sleep apnea has been linked to the following and more:
Cardiovascular or heart disease
Stroke
Type 2 diabetes
High blood pressure or hypertension
Frequent headaches
Decreased libido
Unsafe weight gain
Depression
Memory issues
Struggles with concentration
Irritability
Excessive sleepiness or lethargy
If you experience symptoms such as snoring, trouble concentrating, or daytime
fatigue, then it could be caused by sleep apnea. Our dental sleep medicine
team from
ProHEALTH Dental can help.
If you have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), when you sleep, the muscles
in your throat relax so much that your airway temporarily collapses, and
you may stop breathing. This triggers you to wake up briefly so you can
breathe again. You usually won’t remember any of these brief micro-arousals
in the morning, but they can happen as often as 100 times an hour.
What is Dental Sleep Medicine?
Dental sleep medicine is a specific area of dental practice that uses oral
appliance therapy to treat a variety of sleep-related disorders. Oral
appliance therapy is the process of creating specific mouthpieces and
oral equipment to wear while sleeping to help reduce symptoms of those
disorders.
Different oral appliance therapy devices include the following and more:
Mandibular advancement devices
Mouthguards
Tongue-retaining devices
Most commonly, dental sleep medicine and oral appliance therapy are used
to help people who suffer from chronic snoring and obstructive sleep apnea,
but there are other sleep-related disorders that can be treated by our
sleep dentists.
Benefits of Oral Appliances
A custom-made oral appliance can bring many different benefits, including:
Improved sleep with less or no interruptions
Ability to fall asleep faster
Reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes
Better alertness during the day
Overall improvement in mental and emotional health
And many more
What Do Our Sleep Dentists Do?
We use a collaborative approach to treat sleep apnea with your physician’s
help. Our dentists with a specialization in dental sleep medicine can
create a small, custom-made oral appliance, worn only while sleeping,
that moves your jaw and tongue slightly forward, preventing your throat
from closing when your muscles relax. This device can significantly improve
sleep, reduce the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, and can be especially
effective for people who are intolerant of CPAP.
Choose ProHEALTH Dental Today for Dental Sleep Medicine
For dental sleep medicine and oral appliance therapy in New York or New
Jersey, choose ProHEALTH Dental first. Our team of sleep dentists specializes
in finding personalized ways to help patients with sleep apnea, snoring
problems, and other sleep-related issues. We have
multiple convenient locations, each that offers convenient hours, so scheduling a treatment is easy.
With our help, before you know it, you and your loved ones could be getting
better sleep again!
"The staff was very thorough in using the most recent technology to assess the health of my teeth and gums. As a nurse, feeling confident in the care my dental ..."
