Facts About Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is a very common sleep disorder that is estimated to affect nearly a billion people worldwide, preventing them from getting restful sleep and also raising their risk of other serious health complications. Because many people are unaware of the disorder, its signs, and its consequences, sleep apnea largely goes undiagnosed. To help our patients understand the seriousness of this problem and how it can affect their oral and overall health, we would like to present some Sleep Apnea Facts to help spread awareness.

Fact #1 – People with sleep apnea stop breathing, wake up, and fall asleep again multiple times during the night, often without noticing a thing. In very serious cases, this happens over a hundred times an hour, which puts a severe amount of stress on the body’s systems. During sleep, the throat muscles and tongue relax, partially or completely blocking the airway, cutting off breathing, and as a result, the supply of oxygen to the body and brain. When the brain becomes aware of this lack of oxygen, it automatically wakes the body up long enough to restore breathing. Most of the time, the person is completely unaware of this repeating cycle.

Fact #2 – Obstructive sleep apnea has numerous symptoms, but most people do not associate them with OSA or may wrongly attribute them to a different issue, and their condition can go undiagnosed for their entire lives. Because the most telling sleep apnea symptoms occur at night, while a person is asleep, and they do not usually wake up enough to be aware that they have stopped breathing, a large number of people with sleep apnea never receive an official diagnosis or get needed treatment. Additionally, the daytime effects of sleep apnea, such as chronic fatigue, inability to focus, morning headaches, and dry mouth, are easy to attribute to other health conditions, such as hormonal changes, allergies, or TMJ.

Fact #3 – Age, gender, and certain physical features contribute to the risk of developing sleep apnea. As a person ages, their potential for developing sleep apnea increases, until they reach between 60 and 70 years old, when it levels off. Men are at higher risk than women, and women’s risk is highest from the time they enter perimenopause until they are postmenopausal. The following physical features also contribute to the risk of developing sleep apnea:

• A small lower jaw or jaw that is positioned further back
• Enlarged tonsils
• A neck size over 17 inches
• Excess fat in the throat area

Fact #4 – Your dentist can help! From at-home sleep screenings to treatment options, your dentist has the tools to diagnose and treat sleep apnea. Many dentists, including our own Dr. Gettings, have special training in sleep disorder diagnosis and treatment. They will ask you questions to assess your OSA risk and may order a sleep screening that you can complete at home. Your dentist will devise a treatment plan for you based on the results of the screening, which may include certain lifestyle changes, an oral appliance that you wear at night, or CPAP to help you breathe better and get the quality sleep you need to stay healthy.

If you are in West Chester, OH or the surrounding area and suspect you or a loved one may have a nighttime breathing disorder like sleep apnea, please call our office to request a consultation. Your health is too important to leave to chance!