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Many people regularly suffer from poor or interrupted sleep, affecting their daily well-being. Did you know that a visit to your local dentist could be the answer to a more restful night and a healthier mind and body?
From teeth grinding or clenching to snoring and sleep apnea, your Lakewood dentists at CK Dental can improve the quality of your sleep.
More people than you might expect, including athletes, teens, and kids, suffer from sleep apnea.
Dr. Callahan and Dr. Klein are experienced and trusted dentists that will help alleviate the discomfort of sleeping with sleep apnea, allowing you to sleep better and stay healthy.
Our clinic is friendly and judgment-free. All we want to do is help you sleep better.
Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that causes your breath to stop and start irregularly during sleep. It can happen multiple times an hour and can last anywhere from a few seconds to over a minute.
Sleep apnea can cause loud snoring, choking, or gasping during sleep, constantly interrupted sleep, and general tiredness throughout the day, and it can even lead to more serious issues like high blood pressure and heart problems.
The most common type of sleep apnea is caused by issues inside the mouth or throat, such as collapsing soft tissue at the back of your throat or problems with your jaw or tongue size. This is called obstructive sleep apnea because your airway is becoming obstructed or blocked during the night.
Sleep apnea can be caused by a few known conditions that you may not have suspected, and some people may not even know they suffer from this ailment. If these are things you experience, consult your dentist, who can begin treating you.
Sleep apnea can also affect children and teenagers who have oversized upper jaws, and if they can't sleep well, their ability to learn will be affected. This is something easily treatable by a dentist, who can also help to diagnose an oversized upper jaw and recommend treatment for sleep apnea.
The acid found in gastric reflux can deteriorate your teeth. People who suffer from gastric reflux can also suffer from increased facial activity while they are asleep. The increased facial movement can be bad as the clenching and grinding of the teeth can rub the acid into their teeth. Your dentist can use these indicators to detect a case of sleep apnea.
Some symptoms of sleep apnea can include loud snoring, sessions or episodes where you don't breathe while you sleep, gasping for air while sleeping, waking up with a dry mouth, having a headache in the morning, or having a difficult time staying asleep.
At CK Dental in Lakewood, CO, we can make customized oral appliances for you that can reduce the effect obstructive sleep apnea has on your life. If you are suffering from moderate to severe sleep apnea or central or complex sleep apnea, a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine might be the best recommendation. However, for those patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea, a visit to your dentist might have the most beneficial results.
A non-invasive oral appliance, similar to a mouthguard, can protect teeth and jaws from the pressures of nighttime teeth grinding or bruxism. As well as helping to keep teeth from damage, a customized oral appliance can help with sleep apnea by keeping your airway open and also reduce headaches brought on by clenched jaws.
Many people believe you must be put on a noisy continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine to treat sleep apnea. However, we will treat you as an individual rather than a one-size fits all. At CK Dental, we are sleep apnea dentists specialists. We may be able to assist you and ultimately help you sleep better without using a CPAP machine.
In order to get an official diagnosis of sleep apnea, you will need to visit your doctor; however, even though CK Dental may not officially diagnose sleep apnea, we will help treat it. If you are having an issue breathing while sleeping, we recommend you get a sleep test done by a doctor first.Dr. Klein will try and help you sleep better with advanced treatments that may help. Dr. Klein’s number one goal is to help you sleep better, so you never need to worry about being pushed into a procedure or treatment if you do not feel comfortable with it. Whether you just aren’t getting proper sleep or want to get off a CPAP machine, Dr. Klein can help you. Learn more about how symptoms such as teeth grinding affects your sleep in the first place in this post about teeth grinding and sleep apnea.
Customized oral appliances can also be used as an alternative to a CPAP machine for sleep apnea for some patients. There are several advantages of OAT (oral appliance therapy) over CPAP machines:
If you are in the Lakewood, CO area and suspect you might have sleep apnea, or you’re looking for an alternative to a CPAP machine, schedule an appointment with CK Dental, the professional dentist near you, and let our friendly staff help you get back on the path of a healthy night’s sleep.
Sleep apnea can affect anyone in any age gap. More people than you might expect suffer from sleep apnea, including athletes, teens, and kids. Our clinic is friendly and judgment-free. All we want to do is help you sleep better.
Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea that your Lakewood dentist will look for include:
While an official diagnosis of sleep apnea can only be made by a medical physician, dentists can provide treatments that can alleviate the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, which will have great benefits on your general health.
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