Sleep Apnea and Loud Snoring

Sleep apnea is a potentially dangerous disorder with fairly benign symptoms such as loud snoring at night, and morning headaches or daytime bouts of sleepiness.

The cause? Intermittent periods throughout sleep when you actually stop breathing. Breathing cessation, or apnea, lasts from seconds to nearly a minute. When breathing resumes, the brain senses lack of oxygen and wakes you up. The snoring is loud, sometimes explosive.

In the morning, the build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood causes headaches. And the lack of deep, relaxing sleep can leave one drowsy — and usually grouchy — during the day. During sleep apnea, the upper air passages in the mouth and throat are obstructed (no one is sure exactly why).

One form of treatment that has proven successful is wearing an acrylic appliance during sleep to keep the air passages open. It’s comfortable and easy to use. For more information regarding sleep apnea, please call our office.

Related reading: Sedation dentistry · Dry mouth