Snoring & Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea symptoms and signs are often an indication that your health is being negatively affected. Maybe someone has told you your snore is deafening, or you’ve woken up on more than your fair share of mornings feeling less than refreshed. In those instances, it’s probably obvious something’s up with your sleep. But in the case of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder wherein people stop breathing while asleep, sometimes hundreds of times a night, pinpointing the problem can be significantly trickier. We’ve compiled the list of signs and symptoms of sleep apnea below to hopefully make pinpointing easier.
Common Symptoms
One of the most common signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is loud and chronic snoring. Pauses may occur in the snoring. Choking or gasping may follow the pauses. These brief periods of breathing cessation don’t trigger full alertness but disrupt sleep enough to leave sufferers groggy in the mornings — and at risk for several more serious health problems, often without even realizing there’s a problem. You likely won’t know that you’re having problems breathing or be able to judge how severe the problem is. A family member or bed partner often will notice these problems before you do.
Symptoms & Risk Factors of OSA
Symptoms |
Risk Factors |
|---|---|
| Snoring | Hypertension |
| Excessive Daytime Sleepiness | Diabetes |
| Pauses in Breating while Sleeping | Heart Disease |
| Decreased Sex Drive | Driving and Work Related Accidents |
| Stroke |
Achieve Quite, Restful Sleep
However, it is important to note that not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.
Our goal is to help you achieve quiet, restful sleep in order to improve your overall health and the quality of your life. Drs. Ver Brugge, Phillips and Nagle practice as general dentists at Lifetime Dental Care®. They have expanded the practice to include treatment of snoring and sleep apnea. They are members of the Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and have advanced training to help customize treatment to your needs and provide you with the most effective oral appliance therapy available to resolve your snoring and sleep apnea problem. This custom-made oral appliance gently repositions the tongue and lower jaw forward during sleep to maintain an open airway.
Childhood Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea can also affect children. Unfortunately, the vast majority of children with sleep apnea are misdiagnosed with learning disabilities and behavioral disorders. By trying to treat issues with learning or behavior, well-intentioned parents miss the real cause of their child’s troubles—that they are exhausted from lack of good quality sleep!
Children can have the same symptoms of sleep apnea as adults, such as migraines, mood changes, and exhaustion. Some of the symptoms that are more common in children with sleep apnea are:
- Trouble wetting the bed
- Underweight or stunted growth
- Trouble focusing in school
- Behavioral issues
- Chronic or repeated illnesses
If you are worried about your child, you can take our helpful assessment to determine whether they may be affected by sleep apnea. You can also schedule an in-person consultation with Dr.Bivin Phillips by calling Lifetime Dental Care at 410-879-4363.
Oral Appliance Therapy
Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) is indicated for mild to moderate OSA patients and for those with severe OSA if they cannot tolerate the CPAP. He will carefully review your case and consider numerous options in determining the ideal oral appliance for you. He can help you get a good night’s sleep with the use of this comfortable and easy to wear oral appliance.
So, give us an opportunity to allow you to experience firsthand the benefits of this reversible and non-invasive therapy. Our reputation for service is second to none, and our entire staff stands ready to work with you in any way we can be of assistance.
To learn more about the oral appliance and for your free consultation please call us at 410-879-4363 or email us at lifetimedentalcare@gmail.com.