Are you suffering from sleep apnea? Our family dental center in Sioux Falls, SD offers a selection of solutions to restore your quality of sleep and support your optimal overall health.
Sleep apnea is a common condition that causes sufferers to briefly stop breathing throughout the night. The most common symptoms are snoring and excess fatigue experienced throughout the day. Sleep apnea is often diagnosed by a sleep specialist through a sleep study.
Kusek Family & Implant Dentistry is here to help, offering top sleep apnea treatments in Sioux Falls and beyond!
What are the Types of Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, occurs when the airway becomes blocked during sleep. The airway can become blocked or narrowed due to the muscles in the throat relaxing too much, the tongue falling back into the airway, loss of tissue tone in the soft palate, or enlarged tonsils. Disturbances in the nasal passages can also create conditions for sleep apnea.
Central sleep apnea, or CSA, occurs when the brain fails to properly signal the breathing muscles to breathe. Central sleep apnea is typically caused by conditions like stroke or heart failure.
Understanding Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a common condition characterized by brief pauses in breathing during sleep. These pauses are caused by a reaction to the relaxation of muscles during sleep, which can lead to the closure of the airway due to gravity. Sleep apnea can have severe consequences, such as hypertension, memory loss, mood changes, weight gain, diabetes, extreme fatigue, heart disease, and stroke. Our dentists in Sioux Falls, SD, offer custom night guards and lasers for a comfortable and non-invasive treatment option for sleep apnea.
If you snore loudly during the night, frequently wake up, or experience daytime fatigue, you may suffer from sleep apnea. These are some of the common symptoms associated with sleep apnea. It is essential to consult with a sleep specialist who can diagnose sleep apnea through a sleep study.
The Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
In addition to loud snoring, frequent awakenings, and daytime tiredness, other symptoms are commonly associated with sleep apnea. These symptoms include:
- Brief pauses in breath
- Difficulty breathing during sleep
- Waking up with a dry mouth
- Morning headaches
- Sleep maintenance issues (insomnia)
- Daytime sleepiness and fatigue
- Trouble focusing while awake
- Mood swings and irritability
- Loud and persistent snoring
- Periodic breath loss while asleep
- Struggling to breathe during sleep
- Constant fatigue and lack of energy
- Weight gain
- Depression
- Dry throat
How is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?
A sleep study is often used to diagnose sleep apnea. The study is performed as an overnight test taken in a sleep lab that records body functions during sleep. It is performed in the sleep lab. The test records your breathing and heart rate patterns. It also records your brain waves, eye movements, limb movements, body positions, and oxygen levels.
What Treatments Are Available For Sleep Apnea?
At Kusek Family & Implant Dentistry, our team can coordinate treatment with sleep specialists to provide the most effective treatment for your needs. If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, we can help, offering the following treatment solutions:
Dental Appliances
Our dentists may recommend dental appliances for sleep apnea. These non-invasive, custom-crafted nightguards are designed to keep your throat open during sleep, preventing sleep apnea symptoms.
CPAP
Our dentists may recommend CPAP therapy as a standard treatment for sleep apnea. CPAP therapy involves wearing a mask connected to a device that delivers a continuous air stream. The air pressure from the mask keeps your airway open while you sleep.
Laser Snoring Therapy
To provide relief from the effects of snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnea, our team offers laser snoring therapy. This innovative, non-surgical treatment is a comfortable, effective way to tighten and strengthen the tissues in the throat and soft palate and throat, helping to keep the airway open to effectively reduce snoring and pauses in breathing during sleep.
Laser snoring therapy uses a gentle, precisely controlled laser to deliver light energy to the tissues at the back of the throat. This causes a tightening effect, which helps to:
- Reduce vibration in the soft palate, which helps reduce snoring
- Widen the airway, allowing for easier breathing during sleep
A course of laser snoring therapy typically involves 3-4 separate treatment sessions over a 6-8 week period. Some patients may require additional touch-up treatments in the future. At Kusek Family & Implant Dentistry, laser snoring therapy is a non-invasive sleep apnea treatment that involves no surgery, no incisions, and no downtime. Most patients report little to no discomfort during the procedure, and each session typically takes just 20-30 minutes.
Ready to experience a more restful and refreshing sleep with fast, non-invasive laser therapy? At your sleep apnea consultation, our team will help you determine if laser snoring therapy is the right treatment for you!
Surgery
Dentists sometimes refer patients to sleep centers for surgical corrections to improve sleep apnea. This may involve removing soft tissue in the back of the mouth and tongue that can block the airway during sleep.
Schedule Your Sleep Apnea Consultation & Screening
Kusek Family & Implant Dentistry is proud to offer a full range of services, including sleep apnea therapy. Call today to schedule your consultation!
