Why is Sleep Apnea Treated by a Dentist?

Louisville, KY

If you’re suffering from a sleep-related issue, such as snoring or daytime exhaustion due to a lack of rejuvenating sleep, you likely thought of talking to your primary care physician. But, believe it or not, dentists play a crucial role in diagnosing and treating sleep apnea. In fact, they are often the first healthcare providers to notice the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It just makes sense, right? After all, OSA is closely tied to the structure of the mouth, jaw and airway. Thus, dentists can often offer personalized treatment options for OSA that don’t include loud and cumbersome CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines or invasive procedures like surgery.

Today, our airway dentist in Louisville is diving into OSA — what it is, the negative effects it can have on your quality of life and how our dental team can help.

What is OSA?

OSA is a serious sleep disorder marked by repeated pauses in breathing while sleeping, sometimes hundreds of times a night, unbeknownst to the sufferer. It occurs when the throat muscles relax and the soft tissue collapses, creating an airway obstruction.

This can lead to symptoms such as:

• Loud, persistent snoring
• Gasping for air during sleep.
• Excessive daytime fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating and/or remembering things
• Morning headaches

If left untreated, OSA can increase a person’s risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and other serious health issues.

How are dentists best equipped to diagnose and treat OSA?

With their education and expertise, dentists are uniquely qualified to diagnose and treat OSA:

1. We’re field experts

The mouth, jaw and airway are our specialty! Exceptional Dentistry’s experienced sleep apnea dentist, in fact, can quickly and easily identify signs of OSA during a routine exam in our Jefferson dentist’s office. Being field experts, dentists like ours can also offer effective, noninvasive treatment plans that don’t involve CPAP machines, notorious for being loud, cumbersome and difficult to clean.

2. We catch the clues

As dentists, we know that loud, stubborn snoring, teeth grinding (also called bruxism) and even dry mouth (xerostomia) can be early indicators of sleep-disordered breathing. During your routine checkup with us — which you should be scheduling twice a year in our Louisville family dentist’s office — we are often the first to notice the signs. We can then refer you for an official diagnosis, if needed.

3. Oral appliance therapy

Since we’re dentists, we have treatment options for OSA that don’t involve annoying CPAP machines or invasive procedures like surgery. In severe OSA cases, more extreme treatments may be necessary. But for mild to moderate cases, we offer oral appliance therapy. We custom-fabricate a mouthguard for our patients to wear at night to reposition the jaw and keep the airway open during sleep. No tubes, no noise … just good ol’ quality sleep.

Airway dentistry in Louisville and Jeffersonville, KY

If you suspect that you or a loved one may have sleep apnea, let’s talk. Don’t let OSA affect your quality of life for one more day. Call us at Exceptional Dentistry, 888-918-3336, or reach out to us online today.