What Is Sleep Apnea? A Comprehensive Guide to Sleep Apnea

Whether you have already attended a sleep study and received a sleep apnea diagnosis or have been told that you snore loudly at night and suspect you might have sleep apnea, this comprehensive guide to sleep apnea will help you understand everything about the disorder, including:

• Signs and symptoms
• Underlying causes and risk factors
• How sleep apnea is diagnosed
• The dangers of untreated sleep apnea
• Sleep apnea treatment options

At Seva Dental, we provide alternative treatment options for sleep apnea in Bellbrook, OH, and Dr. Somaiya at Seva Dental offers take-home sleep studies to assess your condition and determine if you’re experiencing signs of sleep apnea. Based on your results, Dr. Somaiya will work with you to explore personalized treatment that best supports your long-term health. 

We understand that facing a sleep apnea diagnosis can feel overwhelming, but you're not alone. Our sleep dentist is here to support and guide you toward answers and relief. Keep reading to learn more. 

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing called apneas or hypopneas. Depending on the severity of the condition, sleep apnea could cause a person to stop breathing anywhere from a few times per hour to more than 100 times per hour. 

Sleep Apnea Symptoms

The most common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Snoring (but not everyone with sleep apnea snores)
• Cessation of breathing during sleep
• Waking up gasping for air
• Trouble staying asleep
• Sleep bruxism (grinding teeth or clenching jaw during sleep)
• Unusual wear patterns on the teeth from bruxism
• Falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow
• Waking with a dry mouth or sore throat
• Morning headaches
• Daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia)
• Irritability and mood swings
• Memory issues or trouble concentrating

If you experience any of these symptoms, we recommend talking with your general doctor or our sleep dentist about sleep apnea. 

Sleep Apnea Causes and Risk Factors

There are two primary causes of sleep apnea:

1. A physical obstruction of the airways, where soft tissues collapse during sleep, blocking the airways
2. A nervous system disorder, where the brain fails to signal the muscles that control breathing during sleep

Underlying factors can also contribute to sleep apnea, increasing a person's risk or worsening the disorder. These include:

• Excess weight or obesity
• A large neck circumference
• Genetics and anatomical features, such as large tonsils, narrow throat, or other oropharyngeal abnormalities
• Family history of sleep apnea
• Certain medications
• Certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, hypertension, hormonal disorders, polycystic ovary syndrome, neurological conditions, chronic lung disease, or prior stroke
• Tobacco and/or alcohol use
• Nasal congestion
• Allergies
• Men are more likely to have sleep apnea than women.
• The risk increases with age, and steepens significantly after age 45. 

Types of Sleep Apnea

There are three types of sleep apnea, which are categorized by the primary underlying cause. These include:

1. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) - Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by soft tissues that collapse and block the airway during sleep. This is the most common type of sleep apnea. 
2. Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) - Central sleep apnea is caused by a nervous system disorder that results in unsent or blocked electrical signals from the brain to the breathing muscles, resulting in a loss of control of the muscles responsible for breathing. 
3. Complex Sleep Apnea Syndrome (CompSAS) - Complex sleep apnea occurs when an individual has both OSA and CSA. 

The Complications and Dangers of Sleep Apnea: Why Diagnosis and Treatment Are Vital to Your Health

Untreated sleep apnea can harm your systemic health and be incredibly dangerous, putting your life at risk. Left untreated, sleep apnea increases the risk of several serious health conditions, such as:

• Heart disease and high blood pressure (hypertension)
• Type 2 diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome
• Liver problems

The stress that repeated, frequent oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) from sleep apnea puts on your body significantly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. It can also increase your risk of complications during surgery with general anesthesia, so it's extremely important to let your doctor know if you have been diagnosed with or suspect you might have sleep apnea before being treated with general anesthesia. 

How Sleep Apnea Is Diagnosed

If a patient reports signs and symptoms of sleep apnea, a healthcare provider will refer the patient for a sleep study to confirm the sleep apnea diagnosis while also assessing its severity and the type of sleep apnea present.

Polysomnogram Sleep Study

Sleep studies are most often performed in a sleep lab, where patients spend the night hooked up to a polysomnogram. This overnight test monitors breathing, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, brain waves, and more. The test enables doctors to definitively diagnose sleep apnea, identify the type of sleep apnea present, and determine its severity. Additionally, this test gathers the data needed to recommend the most effective treatment plan. 

At-Home Sleep Apnea Testing

Some sleep studies can be done at home using a small, wearable device, often similar to a wristwatch, that includes a pulse oximeter. These devices monitor vital signs like your heart rate, breathing patterns, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep, helping screen for signs of sleep apnea in a convenient, comfortable way. 

This test can indicate whether or not a patient has sleep apnea, but it is not as detailed or accurate as a sleep study performed in a sleep lab. After an at-home sleep monitor detects sleep apnea, a patient might still be referred for a polysomnogram at a sleep lab for a more accurate diagnosis and assessment. 

Can Sleep Apnea Be Cured? Sleep Apnea Treatment Options

Whether or not sleep apnea can be cured depends on its underlying cause and the type of treatment a patient is willing to undergo. While not every type of sleep apnea can be cured, every type is very manageable with the right treatment approach. There are three basic categories of treatment for sleep apnea:

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

The CPAP is the most common type of sleep apnea treatment because it can effectively address OSA, CSA, and CompSAS. This treatment uses a machine that produces continuous positive air pressure, which holds a patient's airway open during sleep to maintain breathing. A CPAP machine pushes air through a hose to a nasal piece or facemask that delivers the air to the patient's airways. 

CPAP machines come in different styles and have different settings. Some even feature their own monitoring systems that can communicate remotely with a patient's healthcare providers. Healthcare providers can then assess the treatment's efficacy and adjust settings, as needed. 

The main drawbacks of the CPAP machine are the noise it makes (a whooshing sound with each breath) and the discomfort of wearing a nose piece or mask during sleep. 

Oral Appliance Therapy

Some cases of obstructive sleep apnea can be effectively treated with an oral appliance. There are several types of oral appliances for sleep apnea, but they all fall into two basic categories:

1. Mandibular Advancement Devices (MADs) - These oral appliances reposition the lower (mandibular) jaw into a forward posture during sleep, helping to prevent it from falling backward and blocking the airway. 
2. Tongue-Stabilizing Devices (TSDs) - These oral appliances hold the tongue in a forward position, preventing it from falling back and blocking the patient's airway. 

These oral appliances are custom-designed to maximize patient comfort, and wearing them feels similar to wearing a custom-designed athletic mouthguard.

Sleep Apnea Surgery

Some anatomical problems that cause obstructive sleep apnea can be addressed with corrective surgery to prevent airway blockages during sleep. These surgeries can include:

• Various jaw surgeries
• Various nasal surgeries
• Tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy

Additionally, some severe forms of CSA can be treated with surgical nerve stimulation implants designed to artificially stimulate the breathing muscles during sleep. 

Which Sleep Apnea Treatment Is Right for You?

The sleep apnea treatment that's right for you depends on several factors, including the type of sleep apnea with which you are diagnosed, the severity of your sleep apnea, and your personal treatment preferences. Our dentist can work closely with your general healthcare provider to help you determine the treatment that's right for you. 

Safeguard Your Health and Improve Your Sleep With Sleep Dentistry in Bellbrook, OH

If you're suffering from obstructive sleep apnea, our dentist can help you restore your quality of sleep, safeguard your health, and take back your quality of life with our dental office's personalized sleep apnea services. We strongly encourage our patients who suspect they might have sleep apnea to talk with our dentist about the symptoms they have experienced to start the diagnosis and treatment process. 

To learn more about sleep dentistry and oral appliances for sleep apnea, we welcome you to contact our office and request a sleep apnea consultation today.

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