You have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. You’ve had your CPAP machine for a few months now.
The doctor told you that it might take a little time to adjust to having the mask on your face at night, but that’s only one part of the problem.
You didn’t understand how it would feel to have air blowing into your mouth and nose all night. The hose that connects the mask to the machine is kind of an annoyance when you are trying to find a comfortable sleeping position.
You are sometimes surprised to learn that you have removed the mask in your sleep. Often it’s your spouse waking you up to let you know that you are snoring again.
If that sounds familiar, then you aren’t alone. CPAP machines can be an effective way to treat sleep apnea, but for some people, the machine creates a new set of problems that interfere with their sleep.
We want you to get the sleep that you need. This is why Beaumont Family Dentistry is prepared to create a special mouthpiece that you can wear to as an alternative to your CPAP machine.
We have three dentist offices in Lexington, KY, if you are interested in learning more.
Are You Helping Yourself?
If you have already been diagnosed with sleep apnea, then you have probably learned the many ways it can affect you.
Sleep apnea can cause you to have high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems.
Sleep apnea can leave you feeling sleep deprived which can affect your mood, your ability to concentrate, and your daytimes sleepiness. Not so coincidentally, that increases your risk of being in a car accident, too.
You’ve got plenty of reasons for wanting to treat your sleep apnea.
For a long time, the CPAP or continuous positive airway pressure machine was the standard treatment. The purpose of the machine was to push air into your airways, which would allow you to continue breathing so you could sleep deeper and snore less.
As long as you could tolerate the CPAP at night, this was fine. If you couldn’t tolerate the CPAP, then you may not wear it. Therefore, you may not really be treating your sleep apnea.
What Happens With Sleep Apnea?
With the most common type of sleep apnea — obstructive sleep apnea — your airways become blocked when you fall asleep.
A partial blockage amplifies the sound of your snoring. That is often just a precursor to a complete blockage that can cause you to stop breathing for more than 10 seconds. These stoppages can occur dozens of times per hour.
Each time this happens, you body will wake you up to take another breath. This keeps you alive, but it prevents you from getting the deep, healthy sleep that you need. Your snoring may be causing the same problem for your spouse or partner.
How Sleep Apnea Treatment Works
The goal of sleep apnea treatment is to keep your airways open after you fall asleep. This will allow you to stay asleep so you can reach the stage of deep sleep, and it will stop you from snoring as loud and as often as you do now.
A CPAP machine accomplishes this by using air pressure to force your airways to remain open. If that was working for you, we suspect you may have stopped reading this post already.
If you are having trouble using your CPAP, then you are probably not getting the benefit. You may not be waking up feeling rejuvenated and refreshed, and you still be fighting to stay awake at work.
This is when you should call Beaumont Family Dentistry. Our Dr. Takacs is a member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. She also completed a residency at Tufts University on sleep medicine.
She understands how an oral appliance can do what should be done to keep you breathing while your sleep.
We can design a custom-fitted mouthpiece for you to wear. This mouthguard works by pulling your jaw forward slightly. That movement will help your airways remain open throughout the night.
You will be able to breathe easier and sleep better, and your snoring will be less likely to keep you spouse awake, too.
The Right Fit For You
Sleep apnea is considered a sleep disorder for a reason, but its effects linger into the hours when you are awake.
If your CPAP isn’t helping you like it should, then you should make an appointment at any of our dentist offices in Lexington, KY. The right mouthpiece from Beaumont Family Dentistry may be the only thing you need to enjoy sweet dreams.