Sleep Airway Assessments

If you’ve been told that you snore or stop breathing during the night, or if you feel exhausted even after a full night’s sleep, you may suffer from sleep apnea. The condition involves much more than just lots of snoring – with sleep apnea, you stop breathing for short periods throughout the night. This interrupts your sleep cycles and means that your full night’s sleep isn’t actually restful at all. At Cary Family Dental, we can perform a sleep airway assessment to see if your airway is restricted during sleep, and, if so, we can fit you for a treatment appliance.

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Signs of Sleep Apnea

Before we perform a sleep airway assessment, we want to make sure that you’re showing signs of sleep apnea and not another issue. Some of the most common signs to look for include:

Loud snoring
Cessation of breathing
Sudden waking paired with gasping or a shortness of breath
A dry mouth or sore throat upon waking
Headaches, especially in the morning
Inability to stay asleep
Daytime tiredness
Irritability

These signs on their own aren’t necessarily indicative of sleep apnea that needs appliance therapy. But in combination, they could pose a problem. Untreated sleep apnea can increase your risk for blood pressure or heart problems, a metabolic disorder, type 2 diabetes, and more.

If you notice any of these symptoms and/or answer yes to some of the questions in our sleep health survey, we highly recommend a sleep airway assessment at Cary Family Dental.

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Sleep Health Survey

Read through the following questions. If you answer yes to two or more, we recommend you call us to schedule a full sleep airway assessment.

Do you snore loudly enough to be heard through walls or closed doors?
Are you tired or fatigued during the day?
Has anyone observed you choking, gasping, or not breathing while you sleep?
Are you being or have you ever been treated for high blood pressure?
Is your body mass index (BMI) more than 10% over the ideal range?
Are you over 50?
Is your neck size larger than 17 inches for men (measured around the Adams apple) or larger than 16 inches for women?
Are you male?

Sleep Apnea Treatments

Sometimes, simple lifestyle changes are all it takes to help alleviate your sleep apnea. If, however, your case is more severe, we can help you determine the best treatment for your health, needs, and lifestyle.

CPAP Machines

Continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machines maintain proper air pressure in your airways while you sleep. The pressure is delivered through a mask worn at night. CPAP treatment is the most common and effective sleep apnea treatment, but many find it difficult to adjust to wearing the mask at night. There are multiple types of masks, so let us know if the one you’re wearing isn’t working for you.

Oral Appliances for Sleep Apnea

For people who can’t tolerate the CPAP mask, oral appliance therapy could be exactly the answer they’ve been looking for! There are a number of brands, but they all essentially work the same. The appliance is a small mouthguard worn at night. They open the throat by bringing the jaw forward gently, leaving the airway open and relieving your sleep apnea symptoms.

Learn more about sleep apnea, our sleep airway assessments, and the treatment options we offer. Contact us today to speak with a friendly team member or schedule a consultation.

New Patient Special

As our way of saying thanks for choosing Cary Family Dental to take care of your smile, we invite you to redeem our new patient special. Either mention the offer at your first visit or click on the coupon to bring up a printer-friendly version you can take with you.