Woman covering ears as husband in need of help from a dentist for sleep apnea snores loudly.

What Does a Dentist Do To Help With Sleep Apnea?

The importance of a proper night’s rest is essential to our body’s strong mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing.

A recent Gallup survey states that, “only one-third of Americans report getting high-quality sleep. A third of adults said their sleep the previous night was either fair or poor.”

In other words, 84 million people in America are tossing and turning at night. And to further cloud the issue, 22 million people suffer even more experiencing at least some symptoms of sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where breathing is interrupted as you try to sleep. While relatively common, many of cases of sleep apnea go undiagnosed. Often, this condition goes along with loud snoring and a sudden stop in your breathing. And without a way to address the problem of inadequate sleep, the effect of sleep apnea can produce irritability, lack of focus, drowsiness, depression, headaches, and other health issues.

Surprisingly, your holistic dentist might be the first person to go see if you’re looking for a solution for sleep apnea. If you are one of the millions of Americans who suffer from sleep apnea, an oral appliance can make a significant difference in improving your sleep. Here is how a dentist can help you with sleep apnea treatment through the benefits of oral appliances.

Seeking relief for sleep apnea and needing a good night’s rest? Schedule an appointment with Health Centered Dentistry today!

How a Dentist Helps with Sleep Apnea

If you are experiencing sleep apnea, you understand how terribly disruptive this health condition can be in your life. Sleep apnea disturbs your sleep time, sleep patterns, and even the way you feel throughout the following day.

When you can’t get the sleep your body requires, you may be experiencing brain fog, fatigue, and other health issues. Sleep apnea can even affect your work, school efforts, and relationships at home.

Does Sleep Apnea Cause Health Problems? Infographic

When you’re dealing with a sleep disorder like this, consider how a dentist helps with sleep apnea. A holistic, health-focused dentist can provide a custom-fit oral appliance to help keep your airway open as you rest.

Benefits of Oral Appliances from a Dentist

The right holistic dental provider can help you with sleep apnea treatment via a simple, custom-created oral appliance that fits your mouth and keeps your airway from being obstructed as you sleep.

Here are some key benefits of oral appliances:

  • Highly effective and easy to use.
  • A simple solution that’s part of your bedtime routine.
  • Prevents airway blockages to keep your rest from being interrupted.
  • Helps prevent further health issues and bodily harm from not getting enough sleep and from breathing disruptions.
  • Comfortable and non-invasive solution.
  • Easy and lightweight for travel.
  • Can be designed to reposition, stabilize, and increase muscle tone in your jaw, tongue, soft palate, and uvula.
  • Can help you get a good night’s rest!

A custom-fit oral device offers a cost-effective way to help open your airway and keep you from obstructive air passages. While this helps relieve sleep apnea, it will also enable you to get the good night’s rest you’ve been hoping for.

A holistic dentist will be able to determine other factors that may be affecting your optimum health such as teeth grinding and an improper bite. By treating these conditions with an expert, you can experience a reduction in sleep apnea concerns, and overall sleep quality is improved significantly.

Experiencing Holistic Dental Support

An oral appliance can make a meaningful and transformational difference in improving your sleep, which is essential for your overall health and well-being. Here are some other ways concerning how a dentist can help you with not only sleep apnea treatment but with overall dental health.

Dental Hygiene Check-Ups

  • General Check-Ups to discuss your overall health and determine needs or changes to your medical status.
  • Complete Oral Health Check-Ups where your dental care professional will examine your complete oral health, evaluate any dental or periodontal concerns, lymph nodes, and any other issues you may be experiencing such as concerns about emerging adult teeth, wisdom teeth, decay, bone deterioration, or jaw alignment.
  • Hygiene Education and Training for families especially with young kids on proper oral hygiene techniques.
  • Periodontal Charting to evaluate the gum pockets around your teeth to determine any concerns and to help prevent periodontal disease.
  • Laser Treatment for the reduction of disease-causing bacteria in your mouth.
  • Oral Cancer Screenings to look for common signs of oral cancer including redness, lesions, or bleeding gums. Oral cancer can be serious, however, it’s highly preventable as long as it’s found early.

Periodontal Disease Treatment

  • Early Treatment of Gum Disease is essential to prevent conditions such as heart attacks, blood vessel disease, and strokes. A strong holistic dentist will be able to notice early signs and be proactive with a wide range of treatments to treat periodontal disease and prevent future concerns.

TMJ Therapy

Multiple factors contribute to TMJ disorders including jaw injuries, jaw clenching, and even arthritis. A health-focused dentistry can help you with relief from the frustrating symptoms related to this condition. Some of the common treatments include:

  • TMJ Physical Therapy to help to minimize pain and restore your proper jaw functioning.
  • A TMJ Mouth Guard made by a holistic dentist with a custom fit to your mouth can be worn at night and even during the day as necessary to relieve pressure from your jaw and reduce pain.

The TMJ mouth guard can serve dual purposes to ease TMJ and alleviate sleep apnea as well.

Sleep Apnea and Holistic Dental Services that Work

There’s no doubt that the importance of a proper night’s rest is essential to our body’s strong mental, physical, and emotional health. If you’re experiencing dental health concerns and especially sleep apnea, holistic dental services can provide simple solutions to support your strong health and gentle sleep.

Health Centered Dentistry, located in Anchorage, Alaska, offers sleep apnea and holistic dental services for families and individuals of all ages. Our team strives to promote optimal health and rest for our clients. We understand the critical importance of your sleep and will be happy to address any sleep apnea, oral health, or dental issues you may be facing.

Because there’s a major difference between a few hours of sleep and a full night of good rest and the fact that sleep apnea can poorly affect every part of your life, it’s important to find a simple solution that works.

Health Centered Dentistry cares about your optimal health and rest and that your sleep apnea concerns are addressed properly. Our holistic dentistry can help you with sleep apnea treatment so you can experience the benefits of oral appliances for ensuring a good night’s rest. You’ll be sleeping like a baby in no time!

Ready to address sleep apnea and get a good night’s rest? Contact Health Centered Dentistry today to get the best Alaskan dental care!