Are you a snorer?
Don’t be surprised if we ask you whether you had a good night’s sleep—or whether you suffer from sleep disturbances or snore. We aren’t nosy, but we see more than just the state of your teeth. Often, we are the first to diagnose a common sleep disorder: obstructive sleep apnoea.
Sleep apnoea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep— sometimes hundreds of times. It can occur with snoring or without. About 20 to 25 per cent of the population suffers from this condition, yet many people are not aware of it and the risks the condition involves.
A serious health risk
Sleep apnoea is not just a nuisance to your bed partner if you snore, or results in a bad day for you because you feel tired and drained after another night of bad sleep with many interruptions after waking up gasping for breath.
Not breathing properly during sleep means that your brain—and the rest of your body— do not get enough oxygen. If left untreated, sleep apnoea can result in a number of serious health problems, including: high blood pressure, stroke, heart failure, irregular heartbeats and heart attacks, diabetes, depression, headaches, memory loss
So what do we see that makes us ask you about your sleep? The first sign of sleep apnoea a dentist notices is often tooth grinding. We may also notice redness in your throat caused by snoring a lot, which is another typical symptom of sleep apnoea. If you do have sleep apnoea, in some cases a simple mouth guard, which pulls the lower jaw forward thus opening the airway, can have a life changing effect. A custom-made mouth guard can also reduce grinding—and the cavities, headaches, and jaw pain it causes.
We may also suggest a sleep study. It is very easy and simple to do: a monitoring device, which can be provided through us, is worn over night and sent back to us. The information gets loaded into a computer and is analysed by a sleep doctor who may then recommend wearing a sleep apparatus called Continuous Positive Air Pressure machine.
Teeth and general health are closely interlinked. Our attitude to dentistry is that we see patients, not just their teeth.