All you need to know about Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a serious dental condition that affects normal breathing as you sleep. Most people with sleep apnea Lancaster are not aware that they have sleep apnea since the symptoms usually occur at night as they sleep. At Lancaster Dental Care Associates, we offer top-notch dental services for sleep apnea treatment.

Depending on the reason for your sleep apnea, our dentist may use different treatment methods that are most suitable for your specific condition. Sleep apnea is characterized by excessive snoring as you sleep which can be very uncomfortable for your partner or someone else sleeping in the same house.

How does sleep apnea occur?

For you to observe the effects of sleep apnea, you have to let somebody else watch your sleeping patterns. Sleep apnea usually makes the victim gasp for air intermittently as they sleep. You may also snore very loudly as you try to let in enough air into the lungs. People by way of sleep apnea tend to wake up momentarily in the middle of the night to readjust their sleep position with the intention of getting a better breathing position.

Poor breathing is usually caused by weak or ineffective throat muscles that collapse as you sleep causing air to be cut off from your lungs. As you try to regain normal breathing, you end up snoring very loudly as well as frequently turning in your sleep.

Causes of sleep apnea

Sleep apnea Lancaster is a common condition in most American households. The dental condition can be caused by various issues some of which can be blamed on the habits of the victim. One of the major causes of sleep apnea is being overweight.

Being overweight

Being heavier than your expected weight doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have sleep apnea LancasterHowever, it might increase your chances of developing the dental condition. Once you gain too much weight, the neck muscles usually strain under the excess weight from fatty tissues. If they continue being pressured, they end up becoming weak and collapsing. Once they collapse, the airway becomes constricted causing obstructive sleep apnea.

Having a nasal constriction

Sleep apnea can be caused by having an ineffective nose. If your nose makes it difficult to breathe, you may begin experiencing sleep apnea. For this kind of sleep apnea, the dentist may have to perform oral surgery to widen the size of your nostrils and make it easier to breathe. Visit Lancaster Dental care Associates to get top-notch oral and maxillofacial surgery that is aimed at improving dental health.

Having a narrow airway

Some people usually have a smaller airway than average. This may make them experience sleep apnea since the throat muscles can easily close the airway as you sleep. For such a case, the dentist may recommend getting a dental appliance to help keep the airway open as you sleep. This procedure is typically quite simple and can take less than a single dental session to fully complete.

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