Sleep Apnea & Snoring Archives - Lovebites Dental

When to Seek Professional Advice About Snoring

alwin.laguindab — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 06:00:00 +0000

Everyone snores, right? Although that’s how it might feel after sleeping next to your partner every night for five years, it’s just not true. No, not everyone snores. Yes, there is something you can do about it. And, yes, absolutely, it’s something you should talk to your dentist about.

Snoring generally isn’t the main issue, though it can frustrate your partner to no end. Actually, snoring is usually a symptom of a much bigger, more serious problem. You may have sleep apnea.

What is Sleep Apnea?

If you’ve never heard of sleep apnea, it’s a condition where your airway becomes blocked while you’re sleeping. This causes constant breaks in your breathing, which cause disruptions in your sleep. In turn, this awakes your brain, sending a signal to begin breathing again.

We know that sleep apnea sounds very scary. But, if you have sleep apnea, your brain is already pretty good at monitoring it. The problem, however, is that it’s hard to get a good night’s sleep when you are never truly resting.

What Can You Do About Sleep Apnea?

If you are noticing symptoms, such as snoring, lack of energy, chronic headaches, or mood swings, the first thing to do is visit a professional. Dr. Safarian at Irresistible Smiles in San Diego has treated sleep apnea cases for years, providing the right treatment for each individual. There are essentially three types of treatment: OAT, CPAP machines, and surgery.

Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT)

For milder cases of sleep apnea, we use OAT. During therapy, our team at Irresistible Smiles will use a state-of-the-art dental appliance to reposition your jaw. The repositioning will allow air to flow more easily through your mouth and airways.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Machines

If OAT isn’t right for you, the next step is to get a CPAP machine. These machines force air into your airways while you are sleeping, basically monitoring your breathing so your brain can rest. Many patients also start with CPAP and find it uncomfortable which is when we recommend trying Oral Appliance Therapy instead.

Surgery

Though surgery isn’t also necessary, some cases of sleep apnea are so severe that they require extra help. During surgery, a surgeon will open up the airways to allow more air to pass through. The most commons types of surgery for sleep apnea include removing the tonsils, shrinking soft tissue with radio waves, and restructuring parts of the jaw.

Visit Us in San Diego

If you or your partner snores and you are concerned about sleep apnea, visit Dr. Safarian in San Diego. To schedule an appointment at Irresistible Smiles, call our office at (619) 656-6785 or make an appointment online.

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How Does Sleep Apnea Affect Your Health? (And Why Should You See a Dentist)

alwin.laguindab — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Do you find yourself exhausted from a night of sleep, even though you got the recommended 8-hours of sleep? Have you changed your mattress and sleeping patterns and nothing seems to help? You may be suffering from sleep apnea. If you are suffering from sleep apnea, you need to know how to take care of yourself.

What Does Sleep Apnea Do to My Body?

Other than not getting a good night’s sleep, sleep apnea has many dangerous effects on your body that you should know about.

Heart – Your heart could be in more danger than you realize when you are concerned about how sleep apnea affects you. You could experience high blood pressure, strokes, irregular heart beat (or arrhythmia), and in the worst cases, heart failure.
Liver – When you have untreated sleep apnea, you could be diagnosed with fatty liver disease, and elevated enzyme levels. Your liver helps remove unwanted or dangerous molecules in your body. If it is malfunctioning, you could be putting yourself in serious danger.
Lungs – As you are already struggling breathing, it should come as no surprise that your lungs could be affected by sleep apnea. You could have trouble breathing, lowered oxygen levels, and even adult asthma.
Stomach – Your stomach can even be affected by sleep apnea, with acid reflux and heartburn as very real concerns. Plus, it’s not literally a problem with your stomach, but sleep apnea can affect your metabolism, making your body more likely to store fat and less likely to burn it.
Libido -While not specifically an organ, your sex organs can be affected by sleep apnea. You may experience a loss of interest and men may even experience erectile dysfunction. While women don’t technically report sexual dysfunction related to sleep apnea, if their sleep apnea is treated, their reported sexual satisfaction increases.
Pancreas – Sleep apnea can cause diabetes, which starts in the pancreas. Sleep apnea can increase the risks that you may develop diabetes as well.
Brain – You can experience memory loss, foggy or unclear thinking, and even depression as a result of the lack of sleep that you may experience with sleep apnea.

How Can I Treat Sleep Apnea?

Do you think you have sleep apnea? Does your partner or spouse think so? Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that can be easily diagnosed. First, you should visit sleep dentist Dr. Safarian, who can recommend an excellent sleep physician who can perform a sleep test to determine if you have sleep apnea. From there, Dr. Safarian can recommend the best treatment plan for your body. Most doctors will recommend CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), but many people have difficulty dealing with this treatment. Dr. Safarian offers an oral appliance that is more comfortable and easier to adapt to. Compliance rates are much higher for oral appliances than for CPAP.

Contact a San Diego Sleep Apnea Dentist Today!

Call us at (858) 755-8993 for our San Diego office and we’ll get you the treatment you need right away.

The post How Does Sleep Apnea Affect Your Health? (And Why Should You See a Dentist) appeared first on Lovebites Dental.

3 Things that a Dentist Can Fix (That You Almost Wouldn’t Expect)

alwin.laguindab — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 06:00:00 +0000

You know that a dentist can clean your teeth, recommend orthodontia, whiten your smile and fix problems with your teeth (like cavities or cracked teeth). What you may not know is all the other procedures and recommendations that they can make on behalf of your oral health.

Your Snoring

Chances are your roommate, partner or family have commented on how loud your snoring is, or how sporadic your breathing is at night. Not only is this a concern for the sleeping habits of those around you, but it is also a huge health risk to you.

It’s also more common than you think. In fact, millions of Americans that are affected by sleep apnea experience interrupted or shallow breathing episodes (lasting about 10 to 60 seconds per episode) regularly during sleep. Some people experience hundreds of these episodes every night. But how can a dentist help?

A dentists can order a sleep test and also get you the treatment you deserve. Whether it’s recommending a OAT(oral appliance therapy) to help position your jaw properly, or, in the most extreme cases, performing surgery to correct the dangerous disorder, a dentist can help.

Your Game

You probably know that dentists make mouth guards to protect your teeth. When you work with a dental expert, not only will you be able to keep your smile as long as possible, but you will also be able to have a custom fit for the highest levels of protection. What’s so surprising about that? These professional mouth guards not only protect your teeth, they can improve your performance.

A MonsterGuard is a dental mouth guard designed with regards to the latest in neuromuscular dentistry. This cutting-edge technology will keep your smile as pristine as possible for as long as possible. The reason Dr. Safarian and the team at Irresistible Smiles recommends MonsterGuard is because it provides a 293% bigger breathing hole than standard mouth guards.

Your Headaches

You might be thinking that only a neurologist can treat your headaches, but you’d be wrong. Many people get headache because of temporomandibular joint disorders (called TMJ or TMD). TMJ is particularly linked to migraines, but they can also be associated with tension headaches and other forms.

Properly trained dentists know how to balance your jaw to reduce the pressures that trigger your headaches. You can experience a reduction in headaches as well as in the intensity of your headaches. You’ll also see improvement in other related symptoms like jaw pain, ringing in the ears, vertigo, and jaw popping or clicking.

Contact a San Diego Dentist Today!

Looking for a brighter smile? A way to protect your teeth? No matter what your issue, Dr. Safarian will help you with your dental needs. today and see how they can help you.

The post 3 Things that a Dentist Can Fix (That You Almost Wouldn’t Expect) appeared first on Lovebites Dental.

Why does my husband snore and how can I stop it?

alwin.laguindab — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 07:00:00 +0000

Snoring is extremely common. It affects 40 percent adults in the United States.

Though it is harmless for your husband to snore once in a blue moon, habitual snoring is an entirely different matter altogether.

Habitual Snoring:

Some people snore loudly and frequently. If your husband is one of them, then it is not only important to stop it for his well-being but also yours.

Effects of habitual snoring on your health:

Many women are aware of the harmful effects of secondhand smoke but only a few can recognize the dangers of secondhand snoring.

Sleeping next to your snoring husband costs you, on average, an hour of sleep a night. It adds up to seven hours of sleep in a week.

To put it differently, you lose a whole night’s sleep every seven days if your husband is a habitual snorer. The effects of sleep deprivation manifest on your mood, memory, and overall health.

Effects of habitual snoring on your husband’s health:

In case of your husband, habitual snoring may be hiding a more serious health disorder — sleep apnea.

Left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to fatigue, stroke, heart failure, and a host of other serious health problems.

Why does your husband snore?

Your husband snores because of a soft tissue in his throat. The tissue loosens up during night when the muscles relax.

It is this floppy tissue that vibrates and produces sound when your husband breathes at night. In some men, the tissue remains taut so that snoring is barely audible.

In other instances, it can become so relaxed that it starts to block the airway and obstruct breathing. This stage is a serious health condition, named “obstructive sleep apnea.”

How to stop your husband’s snoring?

To stop it, you will have to start with figuring out why your husband is snoring. There are several physical causes.

Nasal Congestion:

In some instances, it is the blocked nose of your husband that makes him snore at night.

In these situations, you can use a nasal saline wash, prescription nasal steroid spray, nasal decongestant, and nasal dilator to put a stop to snoring.

Sleep Apnea:

Sleep apnea is a serious condition. It is best to consult a health professional immediately if you notice that your husband chokes, grunts or gasps for breath when he snores at night.

The doctor can summon a range of surgical and non-surgical treatments to stop habitual snoring.

Snoring is common in adults. In most instances, it is harmless. But if your husband snores loudly and frequently, it is advisable to visit a doctor.

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