Sleep Apnea

When most patients think about visiting the dentist, they tend to picture having their teeth cleaned, or perhaps undergoing a small procedure such as having a cavity cleaned and filled. Did you know, however, that Dr. Van Alstine can help in a variety of different areas when it comes to your health? It’s true! We are not just here for teeth. In fact, we can help you when it comes to things like sleep apnea.

At Van Alstine Family Dentistry, we strive to provide you the best care possible to help determine the cause of your sleep apnea and develop a solution that allows you to get a good night of rest. If you find yourself struggling with this disorder, contact us today so that we can get you started on the road to recovery.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a name that many people are tangentially familiar with, but not everyone has taken the time to fully understand the issue. Sleep apnea is a disorder—a chronic one—that affects your breathing while you sleep. To be a bit more specific, it affects your airway by obstructing it, ensuring that you are not able to freely breathe. As a result of this obstruction, your breathing will pause. There are hundreds to thousands of these pauses every night for individuals suffering from sleep apnea, and they can last anywhere from just a second or so to over a minute. That is a long time to go without breathing!

Symptoms Of Sleep Apnea

Perhaps unsurprisingly, your body reacts to the inability to breathe by pulling you out of deep sleep. Remember that deep sleep is the kind of sleep that we need to function well during the day. It is the healing sleep that enables our minds as well as our bodies to fully rest and recover from the long day. When you are unable to get enough deep sleep, you will begin to find yourself experiencing a variety of negative consequences. A state of persistent fatigue, for example, can quickly descend over you, as can depression. Deep sleep is very important, in other words, and it is important that you get enough of it every night.

One of the biggest issues when it comes to sleep apnea is that it does not have any significant symptoms other than perhaps loud inhalations of breath when your body pulls you out of deep sleep after a long pause in your breathing. If you live alone or sleep alone in your room, then you might not even notice this issue. Other symptoms, as mentioned above, including a state of persistent fatigue as well as depression.