San Francisco, Marin, and Oakland, CA
Sleep apnea is the leading cause of snoring while asleep. It causes your body to absorb less oxygen, and there are times during sleep that your body actually stops breathing, which disturbs your nervous system and robs you of the restful sleep that you need. You may not even realize how much your brain wakes up during the night, or the fact that you even snore. More than likely it’s your daytime fatigue that bothers you the most, while your partner may complain more about your loud snoring habit.
It’s important to know that sleep apnea puts a strain on your heart, leading to high blood pressure and can even make you gain weight! Your sleep apnea doctors in San Francisco want you to know that snoring doesn’t have to be your life – there is a simple treatment that does not involve being connected to a noisy CPAP machine!
The bottom line is that sleep apnea must be diagnosed, and treatment must be sought in order to protect your health.
Before you can receive treatment for your snoring, you have to receive a diagnosis for sleep apnea. Sleep apnea dentists in the Bay Area at Glen Park Dental have the experience, knowledge, and technology to diagnose this sleep-breathing disorder. A sleep study may be useful in determining the severity of your sleep apnea.
Treating Snoring without CPAP
If you have ever heard of sleep apnea, you probably associate it with a CPAP machine. This is a machine that plugs into an electrical outlet and then is connected to you as you wear a mask over your nose while sleeping. The machine works by forcing air into your airways, which stops your sleep apnea episodes. While this method of treatment is effective, many people are bothered by the inconvenience of the machine, as well as the fact that it is noisy and disrupts their partner’s sleep. In fact, many CPAP users discontinue use of their machine within a few months, which leaves them open to many health risks including heart disease.
Instead of the CPAP, alternative treatment to sleep apnea in the Bay Area includes making a specially designed oral appliance. The purpose of this appliance is to gently reposition the lower jaw to facilitate an open airway. This method of treatment works because it combats the major cause of sleep apnea – an obstructive airway. With sleep apnea sufferers, their lower jaw and tongue often fall backward during sleep, which impedes their efforts to breathe, blocking the airway. Since the oral appliance prevents this misalignment, it helps relieve their sleep apnea and its symptoms.
Benefits of an oral appliance are that it is not noisy, it’s convenient to use and comfortable. It’s everything that the CPAP is not, plus it’s discreet.
It’s time that you put an end to your snoring and sleepless nights. To learn more about how these conditions can be treated without a noisy CPAP machine, contact Glen Park Dental by calling (415) 585-1500 and schedule a consultation.
We welcome patients of Marin, Oakland, and San Francisco in the Bay Area.
