It’s Monday morning again. You wake feeling groggy, your head hurts, and you down numerous cups of coffee to help you concentrate for your drive to work. As you chug coffee at the kitchen counter, your partner enters and glares at you. Another sleepless night listening to your snoring. You shuffle off to work, but when you get there your head ache and exhaustion are overwhelming. It may be time to call Capital Smiles of Schenectady, NY to learn more about our sleep apnea therapies to help you get a better night’s sleep.

Sleep Apnea Explained by Your Capital District Dentists

Sleep apnea can go undiagnosed for years, especially if you don’t share a room or bed with anyone who can be disturbed by your loud snoring. Symptoms associated with sleep apnea like memory loss, severe headache, and weight gain don’t seem to have anything to do with your sleep habits, and physicians often diagnose other conditions. Sleep apnea occurs when a patient stops breathing during sleep. Everyone experiences apnea differently many patients have numerous short episodes of breathing cessation, while others have just a few episodes of extended breathing cessation sometimes for a minute or longer. Other patients experience a combination of apnea (full breathing cessation) and hypopnea, prolonged periods of shallow breathing.

These periods of breathlessness cause your brain to awaken the body to restore breathing. The repeated wakening throughout the night keeps your body from entering a state of restorative sleep which repairs damage cells and biological systems throughout the body. At Capital Smiles, our dentists are trained to diagnose and treat sleep apnea. If you’re feeling excessively tired throughout the day, keeping your loved ones up all night snoring, or frequently wake up gasping for breath, schedule a sleep apnea consultation with Dr. Erin M. Page.

Treating Sleep Apnea with Your General Dentists, Capital District

The first step to treating sleep apnea is diagnosis. During a sleep apnea consultation with your physician, you’ll be asked to discuss your experiences, symptoms, and concerns that lead you to believe you may have sleep apnea. If your primary care physician determines that you may be suffering from sleep apnea, the next step is to undergo a sleep study. There are many different types of sleep studies, and your doctor will work with you to determine what type will most benefit you. The results of the study will allow your physician to see how many incidences of apnea and hypopnea you experience throughout the night as well as their frequency and duration.

Based on these results, Dr. Page will work with you to develop a treatment plan. For many patients, a simple dental appliance worn at night can open the airway stopping or reducing the incidences of apnea throughout the night. The device shifts the jaw forward to open the airway. Many nightguards can be adjusted as you wear them, so you can determine what the optimal positioning is to sleep through the night.

Find Out More about Sleep Apnea, Schenectady

Don’t let another sleepless night impact your daily routine. Call Capital Smiles to schedule a sleep apnea consultation today. Our Schenectady, NY practice invites patients from throughout the Capital District including Albany, Schenectady, Niskayuna, Amsterdam, and beyond.