Dental Appliances for Sleeping
Our team in South East Calgary knows how frustrating it can be when sleep disorders prevent you from getting a good night's rest. Not only can this affect your energy levels, but it can impact your overall health and wellbeing.
If you're suffering from sleep apnea, your throat tissues over-relax, which obstructs the airway and forces the brain to wake up in order to get you to breathe. Our custom-made sleep apnea appliances move your lower jaw and tongue muscles, opening the airway and improving airflow. This should help you have longer and deeper sleeps.
Similarly, if you snore, we can design a custom snoring appliance for you to wear to sleep. It works by realigning your lower jaw and preventing your soft palate from closing your throat. As a result, air gets to flow in and out more freely.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
It’s difficult to diagnose sleep apnea, as it occurs while you are asleep. If you feel unrested in the morning despite getting long hours of sleep, or experience excessive sleepiness throughout the day, these may be signs you’re suffering from this disorder.
Seek assistance from your family or partner in observing whether you’re displaying the symptoms, and talk to your doctor if you suspect that you're experiencing sleep apnea.
People with sleep apnea pause breathing for a few seconds to minutes during their sleep. Once they start breathing normally again, they fall back to deep sleep. This transition is often signalled by a choking like sound or snort. The process of going from shallow to deep sleep can occur several times a night.
Obstructive sleep apnea may keep you from enjoying quality sleep, or cause irritability and difficulty focusing.
What Causes Snoring?
As you fall to a deep sleep, muscles in your mouth, tongue, and throat relax. Snoring occurs when tissues in your throat fall into a deeply relaxed state, blocking and preventing air from flowing freely. This causes vibration, which further increases as the airway gets narrower.
Snoring can be caused by various factors, such as:
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Excess Weight
Extra tissues at the throat and elongated uvula can narrow your airway. The narrower the airway, the harder it is for the air to pass through, and the louder the snoring can get.
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Nasal Congestion
Nasal problems can also trigger snoring due to blocked passageways. Inhaling and breathing become more difficult.
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Alcohol Intake
Alcohol causes throat muscles to relax. Over-relaxation can contribute to snoring.
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Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious condition wherein throat tissues block the airway. As air tries to pass through these tissues, it causes them to vibrate, which creates the snoring sound.