Snoring and Sleep Apnea
How Dr. Jay Anderson Can Help With Snoring
Snoring is the loud, vibrating sound that occurs when your breathing is obstructed while you’re sleeping. Snoring may indicate a serious health condition and is probably a nuisance to your partner. Over 50% of all adults snore while they sleep. Snoring can become so serious that couples must sleep separately, and if your partner does stay in the same bed, he/she probably suffers from sleep deprivation. While you and your partner may laugh about the loudness of your snoring, it can actually be part of a much more serious medical problem. If you or your partner is a chronic snorer, you should contact Dr. Jay Anderson so he can determine what is causing your snoring and work on a treatment plan immediately.
Patients who come to us for help often suffer from sleep apnea and snore chronically. Patients who snore most likely suffer from central sleep apnea rather than obstructive sleep apnea, which is the most common form of sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea is caused by a central nervous system dysfunction and usually occurs in people who have had a stroke or heart attack. Obstructive sleep apnea is the more common type of apnea and results from a collapse of the soft tissue in the back of the throat. Sleeping patterns are interrupted when the soft tissue blocks the airway, causing the patient to stop breathing for a short period of time. When the body reacts to the lack of oxygen, you will be jolted awake to take a breath.
Contributors to Snoring and Sleep Apnea
While anyone of any age can snore and have sleep apnea, there are some factors that will increase your chances of being a snorer or sleep apneaic:
- Weight gain or obesity
- Aging
- Being male
- Lack of sufficient sleep
- High blood pressure
- Allergies
- Anatomic abnormalities, such as nasal obstruction, small jaw, deviated septum, narrow airway, or enlarged tonsils
- Genetic predisposition
- Immune system abnormalities
- Alcohol and sedatives
- Smoking
- Nasal congestion
- Heartburn or acid reflux
How We Can Help
Snoring is caused by a partially obstructed airway. When you sleep, the soft tissue and muscles in your mouth and throat relax, causing your airway to become smaller. If your airway becomes small enough, your soft palate and uvula begin to vibrate when you inhale and exhale—this is the sound we call snoring.
Snoring is very common with almost half of the adult population snoring at some point in the night. According to a sleep study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) “approximately 45% of the general population, 30% of men and women over age 30, 40% of the middle-aged population, and 6% of children snore on a regular basis.” With so many people snoring, it’s highly likely that you are a snorer or that you have slept with a snorer. If you think you just have to live with this problem since nothing you have tried has helped, please give Dr. Jay Anderson a try.
Even though you and your partner may joke about snoring, it is often associated with more serious medical problems such as sleep apnea. Snoring also affects your partner. In a Mayo Clinic sleep study, researchers indicate that snorers cause their partners to lose about an hour of sleep each night. Repeated disruption of sleep patterns can cause people to perform motor skills at or below the levels of people who are legally drunk. So, even if your snoring is not a sign of sleep apnea, it is likely that your snoring could be a real threat to your loved ones because impaired reaction behind the wheel of a car can lead to serious injury or death.
We want to treat your snoring quickly and effectively because it often leads to sleep apnea, which has been linked to numerous other medical conditions and even death. Because oxygen flow to the brain is compromised in people with sleep apnea, it can lead to serious health problems. If left untreated, patients with apnea are 4 times more likely to suffer from a stroke, and 3 times more likely to develop heart disease. Sleep apnea patients also run a higher risk of having hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes. Because sleep apneaics suffer daytime fatigue due to interrupted sleep patterns, many aspects of their lives can be negatively impacted.
Snoring Treatment
We offer a variety of oral appliances to minimize or control snoring. While there is no one magic snoring solution, there are several ways to control snoring and help you get a good night’s rest. You should limit your alcohol intake and avoid using sedatives to help you sleep. Alcohol and sedatives both increase your chance of snoring. Also, try to keep your weight at a healthy range, as weight gain is usually a factor in heavy snorers. Medication, behavioral therapy, surgery and anti-aging medication are a few of the options we offer patients who snore. We can find a solution for you.
Behavioral Changes
Of course, non-surgical methods are the preferred treatment method. If your snoring is not too serious, we may simply recommend some behavioral changes such as weight loss, changing sleeping positions, avoiding alcohol, and no smoking. There is one easy trick that some of our patients have had great success with: since snoring usually is worse when lying flat on the back, a pocket can be sewn into the back of the snorer’s pajama tops. Then place a tennis or golf ball in the pocket, which will encourage the snorer to roll over to sleep on his/her side. This actually works with many of our patients.
Dental Devices
Some dental devices have been designed to hold the jaw in a forward position. Since the tongue is attached in the front to the jaw, the tongue is held forward also when dental devices are used. Some dental devices are designed to hold the palate up and in a forward position.
Dr. Jay Anderson makes sure all dental devices have a correct fit without causing you any problems. These devices may improve snoring in 90% of cases. Some patients do find that there are disadvantages to wearing dental devices. One drawback is that must be worn every night in order to work, they can worsen temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) symptoms, they can cause excessive salivation, and they can be expensive.
Nasal Devices
For people with narrow nasal passages, snoring can be alleviated with nasal devices or medications designed to clear nasal passages. Breath-rite strips open the anterior nasal valve—front part of the nose.
If your nasal passage linings are swollen from allergies and are causing you to snore, nasal sprays may help. Nasal saline irrigation spray cleans and moisturizes the nasal lining since environmental irritants that stay in the nose (dust, pollen, and smoke) continue to irritate as long as they are present. In cold and dry environments, the nasal passages tend to dry up. There are no side effects to using saline sprays.
Other nasal sprays that may be used to improve nasal breathing include nasal steroid sprays and decongestants. These are very helpful for swelling due to minor allergies or irritation. Steroid sprays decrease inflammation in the nasal passages and because very little of the steroid is absorbed into the body, there are virtually no side effects with these sprays. Nasal decongestants can also be used to treat snoring that is due to nasal congestion.
Nasal sprays and other medications are helpful for people who only snore when they have some type of upper respiratory infection, colds, or allergies.
CPAP—Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
CPAP is a device often prescribed for patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). CPAP works by providing a constant, increased air pressure to prevent airway narrowing while you breathe. CPAP requires you to wear a mask that is connected by tubing to a pump that keeps the pressure of the inspired air at a higher than normal level. The air pressures are adjusted individually for each patient based on their parameters of a sleep study. The problem with CPAP is that the machine is bulky, noisy, and uncomfortable. Imagine wearing a mask to sleep every night. Therefore, patient adherence to CPAP is not usually good, but when patients do use it every night, the results are typically excellent!
If you would like to learn more about snoring and how we can treat it, please contact Dr. Jay Anderson today to schedule a new patient oral health examination.
How Dr. Jay Anderson Can Help With Sleep Apnea
Approximately 20 million Americans suffer from a serious medical condition known as
“obstructive sleep apnea” (OSA), a medical condition that causes you to stop breathing momentarily throughout the night. People who suffer from sleep may stop breathing hundreds of times during the night. Obstructive sleep apnea can contribute to many symptoms and medical conditions, so if you feel lethargic during the day (or your partner has told you that you stop breathing during sleep), then you should contact Dr. Jay Anderson right away. After a thorough evaluation, we can determine if you have sleep apnea, and then we can get started on a treatment plan designed specifically for you. We do offer a variety of treatments for sleep apnea; the challenge lies in figuring out which one is best for you.
The word “apnea” comes from the Greek meaning “want of breath.” Sleep apnea is defined as the “cessation of breathing during sleep for at least ten seconds at least five times an hour.” Most patients who come to us did not even realize they had sleep apnea; it was their partner who told them they stopped breathing during the night. Once treatment begins, you will find that you feel better and definitely will feel well-rested. Your fatigue will lessen, you will experience less daytime fatigue, your blood pressure will likely go down, and your ability to think clearly and concentrate will probably improve.
Medical Problems Associated with Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea can lead to or contribute to a number of other medical problems. Here is a list of sleep apnea symptoms:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Morning headaches/migraines
- Short-term memory problems
- Weight gain
- Tiredness
- Gastric reflux
- Dry mouth
- Sore throat
- Slow metabolism
- Inability to lose weight
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Memory and concentration difficulties
- ADD and ADHD symptoms
- Intellectual deterioration
- Mood swings/temperamental behavior
- Poor job performance
- Mouth breathing
- Restlessness and tossing and turning during sleep
- Impotence
- Decreased sex drive
- Difficulty breathing through the nose
- Choking/gasping sensation that wakes you up
- Insomnia
- Inability to sleep through the night
Sleep Apnea Diagnosis
A polysomnogram (PSG) is a special series of tests performed while you sleep, and this tool helps us in diagnosing sleep apnea. During a PSG test, your eye movement, muscle activity, breathing patterns, blood oxygen levels, and brain functions will be closely monitored so we can identify any abnormalities. Other tools for diagnosis may be an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan, and other tests such as cognitive and concentration tests. Once we accurately diagnose sleep apnea, we can begin developing a treatment plan specially designed for you.
Sleep Apnea Treatment
Each patient’s treatment plan for sleep apnea will be different. Sleep apnea treatment may be as simple as a lifestyle change such as losing weight or changing your diet. We may even suggest changing the position in which you keep your pillows while you sleep or the position of your body while you sleep.
Other patients may benefit from the help of a specially designed oral appliance, which prevents airway blockage. More severe cases of apnea may require surgery to prevent upper airway obstruction.
To determine which treatment option is best for you, Dr. Jay Anderson will first examine your living habits and make recommendations for behavioral therapy, such as avoidance of alcohol or sedatives or sleeping in a new position. CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) may be suggested. Although CPAP can be uncomfortable, it does work for many of our patients. CPAP uses a mask with an air blower to force air through the patient’s upper airway, assuring constant inhalation of adequate amounts of oxygen. Dr. Jay Anderson will help you decide which dental sleep medicine treatment or combination of treatments will work best for you.
If you or your partner suffers from sleep apnea, please contact Dr. Jay Anderson, apnea dentist, today to schedule a new patient oral health examination. After a thorough evaluation, we can determine whether or not you have sleep apnea.