How Dentistry Can Treat Sleep Apnea

An estimated 22 million people in the United States live with sleep apnea, yet 80% of moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea cases remain undiagnosed. 

A significant sleep disorder, sleep apnea causes interruptions in your breathing while you sleep. And while you might not immediately think of dentistry in terms of breathing or sleep issues, dentists often play an essential role in its treatment.

Our experienced team of dentists at Swinney Dental in Tyler, Texas, creates custom appliances to help you sleep soundly and improve your health when you have sleep apnea.

Take a few moments to learn more about sleep apnea and its treatment, including ways we can help.

Types of sleep apnea

All types of sleep apnea interfere with breathing and sleep, but they do so in somewhat different ways. The three main types include:

• Obstructive sleep apnea: occurs when your throat muscles relax and block the airway
• Central sleep apnea: involves a lack of proper brain signals to your muscles that control breathing 
• Complex sleep apnea syndrome: involves both throat muscle relaxation and brain signal problems

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common form, affecting up to 15% of women and 30% of men in North America.

Sleep apnea symptoms

Sleep apnea affects people differently, with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Some of the most common sleep apnea symptoms include:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Excessive daytime sleepiness
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Insomnia
• Irritability
• Loud snoring
• Morning headaches
• Periodically stopping breathing during sleep
• Waking up with a dry mouth

If you’re feeling fatigued or irritable and snoring loudly, it’s essential to see a doctor. 

How dentists treat sleep apnea

Once you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnea, our team at Swinney Dental can create a custom appliance to help reduce your symptoms. In many cases, another doctor, such as your pulmonologist, recommends such a device.

To create your device, our team takes impressions of your teeth to ensure a comfortable fit. 

Devices we provide include:

• Silent Nite®: a snore guard that fits over your teeth and forces your lower jaw forward 
• SomnoMed®: fits over your teeth, altering your bite and repositioning your jaw
• Respire®: adjustable devices that push your jaw forward 

Shifting your jaw reduces sleep apnea symptoms by holding the joint open, making normal breathing easier.

It’s not uncommon to need to try more than one type of sleep apnea device before finding your ideal one. That process is worthwhile, given that effective sleep apnea treatment can improve your overall health. Managing sleep apnea can lower your risk for related high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, depression, and even brain damage.

To learn more about sleep apnea or get the care you need, call our dental team at Swinney Dental today. You can also schedule an appointment using the convenient online booking feature on our website.