Sleep apnea is a common but treatable disorder that robs patients of their energy levels and raises a long list of health risks. When patients have sleep apnea, their breathing stops repeatedly while they sleep. While awakenings are not always noticed by sufferers, the result is virtual elimination of deep sleep and often very noticeable symptoms. Here is more about sleep apnea and how patients can get treatment for it from our San Francisco sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Ben Amini, and associate dentists at CitiDent.
Patients with sleep apnea frequently have severe fatigue during the daytime. In many cases, patients do not understand why because they seem to sleep for a normal number of hours. Interruption of breathing at night also makes sleep apnea patients breathless the following day, especially in the morning. Although some patients with sleep apnea snore, many do not.
Sleep Apnea San Francisco
The short-term complications of sleep apnea tend to involve fatigue, which raises risks of deadly accidents. Patients also commonly have low mood and may feel depressed because of incompetence caused by lack of deep sleep. Loss of oxygen can cause sudden cardiac death and heart attack. In the long term, untreated sleep apnea increases risks of heart disease and cancer. This highlights the importance of seeking treatment from our expert in sleep apnea in San Francisco.
For many years, sleep apnea patients were limited to CPAP as the main treatment for their disorder. CPAP, which stands for continuous positive airway pressure, works by pumping air into the airway from a bedside machine through a mask that patients wear over their face at night. Now, many patients are seeking dental treatments from our San Francisco sleep apnea dentist instead. These include soft tissue removal, which involves surgical removal of excess tissue from the airway in order to widen it, and oral appliances, which patients wear at night to keep their jaws and tongue from collapsing backwards and causing airway blockage.
Prompt treatment from our expert in sleep apnea in San Francisco can help patients regain a good quality of life and avoid serious complications from this disorder. At a consultation with our dentist in San Francisco, patients can learn more about the latest sleep apnea treatments.
