Things You Should Know About Sleep Apnea Treatment in Edmonton
Snoring. It’s been the punchline in every joke about couples since the beginning. If you are a snorer, you will, no doubt, jokingly hear about it from your partner. Sure, snoring can be irritating and make it more difficult for your partner to get to sleep, but did you know that snoring may be a sign of something more sinister? If you are a chronic snorer, you may not know it if you sleep alone. It can take a while to begin to associate symptoms with the lack of rest caused by sleep apnea.
You don’t need the best dentist in Edmonton, you need one who is familiar with sleep apnea and practices sleep apnea treatment in Edmonton. Although sleep apnea is complemented by the depth of knowledge a dentist can bring to their practice, not every dentist offers sleep apnea treatment. Rather than conduct a Google search for a “dentist near me” or the “best dental clinic”, we recommend searching for a “sleep specialist near me”.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is the medical term to describe an interrupted breathing pattern while you are asleep. Patients with sleep apnea can stop breathing for as little as a few seconds to over a minute between breaths – often causing distress that stirs them as the body panics. But most patients being seen by a sleep apnea clinic in Edmonton don’t recall the constant waking. Instead, they wake in the morning feeling foggy, tired, and depleted.
Sleep Apnea Symptoms
Getting up in the morning isn’t everyone’s favorite thing to do, but you should know the difference between typical morning grogginess and symptoms of apnea. Because sleep apnea constantly interrupts sleep, you can go to bed tired and wake up feeling as tired or more tired than you were when you went to sleep. Sleep apnea doesn’t allow your brain to enter into REM sleep – the restorative cycle of our nightly sleep. It is in this stage that the body does its maintenance and repair, so waking up with headaches and a stiff neck are less likely if you are getting good rest. Waking up with a headache and dry throat are common when you’ve spent the night snoring.
How is your mood? Sleep apnea makes it much more difficult for our bodies to manage emotions and interact with others with patience and calm. If you’re tired throughout the day and feeling cranky, it might be time to seek out a sleep apnea clinic in Edmonton. Beyond this, it is important to note that sleep apnea sufferers are more at risk for heart disease and high blood pressure. If you need a dentist in south Edmonton, look no further!
Viva Dental Wellness is proud to bring you the Snore Centre in Edmonton. We are a dentist in Windermere offering treatment for sleep apnea. Once sleep apnea is identified, we determine whether the apnea is obstructive or central. Obstructive apnea occurs when the tissues in the throat are loose and fall over the airway while we rest. On the other hand, central apnea isn’t the result of a tissue blockage – it is the result of the disconnection of communication between the brain and the body.
To determine what kind of apnea is affecting the patient, your family dentist in Edmonton (or other sleep specialist) will likely send you home with sleep study head gear. This gear will come with information about how to wear it while sleeping. This device will monitor a number of metrics while you sleep, and your sleep specialist will analyze the information collected. Alternatively, you may be asked to stay overnight for monitoring in a clinical setting.
In terms of snoring treatment in Edmonton, there are two primary modes of treatment. Your dental clinic in Edmonton can arrange to have a dental device made to assist in expanding your upper palate in order to decrease tissue obstruction. This keeps the tissues in a more taught position and does not allow them to fall over the airway. Alternatively, a device called a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway pressure) may be recommended.
At Viva Dental Wellness, we speak to our clients about the importance of sleep hygiene in their sleep routine. Rather than fall asleep to the screen of your phone at night, we recommend keeping your phone outside of your room in the evening and using blackout shades to reduce light visibility as much as possible while you sleep. Going to bed at the same time every day helps to get your sleep and wake cycles stabilized and your melatonin working just as it should. If you have questions about sleep apnea and sleep apnea treatment, contact Viva Dental Wellness today. We would be more than happy to schedule a consultation with one of our sleep specialists and put you back on the road to feeling great again.