Sleep Apnea Treatment
Dr. Amanda Juarez on Sleep Apnea
Read Transcript
Sleep apnea is a medical condition that is actually stopping breathing while you're sleeping, and having drops of oxygen. Sleep apnea has symptoms often times that include snoring, or waking up at night, or not being able to sleep well, restless sleep, restless legs, and also when you wake in the morning just feeling tired. Feeling tired through the day, falling asleep while you're driving, a lot of symptoms that come along with having a sleep disordered breathing.
Sleep apnea has a variety of ways to be treated. The traditional way is what's called CPAP machine. Which is a mask that fits on your face, has a hose, and that blows air into the airway to keep the airway open. I have a lot of patients that have used CPAP and have had a hard time with that. It's still considered a good standard of treatment, but a lot of patients struggle with that.
In our practice we can also help with the treatment that's just an oral device. It's basically a bite guard or a mouth guard you wear that helps to position your jaw, and it can also keep your airway open. Very easy to wear, easy to get use to that. Patients who have had a hard time with CPAP or don't think they would do well with it, enjoy an oral plan treatment. There are other treatments too for sleep apnea.
There's a laser procedure called NightLase that you can use to treat the pallet tissues and shrink them, so you can open the airway up more with that. There's also seeing an ENT, and having some upper airway nasal sinus things looked at. Which are bit more invasive, but there are things we can do to help.
At our Houston, TX dentist office, Dr. Amanda Juarez has been treating sleep apnea since her husband was diagnosed with it. Since then, she has undergone extensive training in sleep apnea treatment, founded Sweet Dreams Sleep Solutions, and has also become Board-eligible for the American Sleep and Breathing Academy.
Sleep Apnea Explained
Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that results in interrupted breathing during sleep. In severe cases, some people stop breathing multiple times a minute throughout the night. This prevents proper, restful sleep and can lead to a number of additional issues, including health and concentration problems.
Diagnosing Sleep Apnea
To properly diagnose sleep apnea, other dentists would most likely refer you to an overnight observation and testing by a sleep specialist. For your convenience and comfort, our Houston, TX dentist offers a special take-home sleep test system called ARES™.
Using the data provided by ARES, a Texas boarded sleep physician diagnoses your particular sleeping issue and recommends customized treatments.
Sleep Apnea Treatments At Houston Uptown Dentists
Depending on your situation, we can help relieve sleep apnea in a number of ways. In mild cases, you may have success with simply sleeping on your side. But for patients who require treatment for relief, we can provide:
- Custom-made oral appliances that shift your jaw and help open up your airway
- CPAP machines that assist patients with breathing throughout the night
- NightlaseTM lasers to tighten tissue in the back of your throat, preventing airway obstruction
If you want to relieve your snoring and sleep better, call our Houston, TX dentist – Dr. Juarez at 832-463-1021 for a sleep apnea treatment. You can also use our online form.