The ADA recommends that all dentists should be screening for sleep related disorders (view the full story here). At Brooks Dental, we aren’t just concerned about your teeth and your smile. We aim to improve your overall health. As a prime example, we offer sleep apnea therapy, which can have an effect on your total wellness. This condition isn’t typically considered a traditional “dental issue,” but we are able to address this issue and potentially save lives.
Dangers of Untreated Sleep Apnea
At first glance, sleep apnea can seem like a simple annoyance. But waking up feeling as if you haven’t had a decent night’s rest or bothering your partner with your snoring can lead to serious, even life-threatening, consequences. Here are just two dangers of leaving sleep apnea untreated.
Poor Quality Sleep
When your body must continually rouse itself to resume breathing, your brain doesn’t receive the deep, rejuvenating sleep necessary for the following day. A lack of quality sleep, especially over an extended period of time, significantly decreases your response time and increases your risk of a car or other type of accident. In fact, multiple studies have found the drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving!
Cardiovascular Risk
Even though sleep apnea entails a lapse in breathing, this directly impacts your heart health. Jumpstarting regular breathing triggers a stress response (i.e., a spike in blood pressure and an increase in heart rate). This response can occur multiple times per night. As a result, researchers have repeatedly reported that untreated sleep apnea sufferers have a significantly increased risk of a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular event, especially during the early morning hours.
Symptoms of Sleep Apnea
In most cases, sleep apnea patients share a set of symptoms, including unexplained fatigue, sleepiness, moodiness, the inability to focus or remember, and more, that point to this condition. One of the most frequently experienced signs of sleep apnea is snoring, but it does not automatically mean that you have sleep apnea if you snore. On the other hand, sleep apnea may be present even without snoring.
How Brooks Dental Helps
At Brooks Dental, we are doing our part to help our patients treat sleep apnea. If you think you may have this common, yet dangerous condition, please check out our Sleep Apnea Assessment quiz. In just a few minutes, you can find out whether a sleep study is your recommended next step. We will be working with your primary care physician and a sleep medicine doctor to confirm our screening process with the proper screening. As part of the screening, we offer a home sleep study to help you address your sleep concerns. We also utilize specialized, advanced equipment, including Eccovision Sleep Technology and a pharyngometer, to assist in the screening process. Once you receive an official screening, our team can then begin sleep apnea therapy to get this condition under control with a custom oral appliance to open up your airway. With the help of Brooks Dental, you can sleep more soundly, enjoy a higher quality of life, and protect your heart health for years to come by treating your sleep apnea. Get started today with our complimentary initial screening and simple Sleep Apnea Assessment!
One Last Note: Our Practice Remodel!
If you’ve visited us lately, you may notice that things are changing around here. We are proud to report that our practice remodel and expansion are under way. We’re making adjustments to our office to give you and your loved ones an even better experience every time you come to see us. We look forward to serving you in our newly updated office soon!