Sleep Apnea
When you can’t explain-away your chronic sluggishness by citing practical matters like late outings or crying infants, it may be time to speak with your dentist.
The Case for Adequate Sleep
With so much to do to keep a body healthy and safe during the activities of the day, your body has work to do! At night, however, this demand decreases and allows the body to focus on its restorative processes in preparation for a new day.
Memory – Deep sleep assists with establishing long-term memory that may be accessed in the future.
Growth & Healing – During sleep, our body floods with hormones and proteins which assist in healing inflammation and trauma. Children benefit from growth hormones which are released while at rest, helping them to grow healthy and strong. Cytokine proteins work together with hormones to promote healing.
Executive Functioning – Executive functioning requires the cooperation of the three pillars of memory, flexibility, and restraint, becomes increasingly difficult when the brain has not had sufficient rest.
Looking to get in touch?
Lotus Dental Wellness is always happy to accept new patients, from individuals to families to people just visiting the area. We also offer Emergency Same-Day Appointments for those experiencing dental emergencies. Lotus Dental Wellness follows the Alberta Dental Fee Guide and offer direct billing for convenience. We look forward to seeing your smile!
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea describes the condition of interrupted breathing while sleeping and may result in a state of exhaustion due to gasping for air every few minutes despite appearing fully asleep. Patients with severe sleep apnea may never achieve a state of deep rest. Symptoms may include painful headaches upon waking, dry mouth and loud snoring that disrupts sleeping partners.
There are two forms of sleep apnea – central and obstructive. Obstructive refers to tissues which flop over the airway and cause an obstruction that prevents you from drawing a breath. Central sleep apnea occurs when the natural inhalation/exhalation rhythm that the body follows is lost because the impulse to draw a breath is absent. This can result in extended periods of time between breaths and waking with gasping and panicking.
How to Treat
If you have reason to believe that you might be suffering from sleep apnea, start by talking to your dentist. Our sleep apnea clinic is ready to help you identify the cause and severity of your condition by conducting a sleep study. This provides valuable information about your sleep quality including sleep cycles and time between breaths. Your dentist may offer to treat your apnea with a Mandibular Repositioning Device or Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machine. A repositioning device repositions the jaw to prevent throat tissue from collapsing over the airway, while a CPAP machine blows a continuous stream of oxygen through a mask to hold the airway open.
If you have questions about this or other services performed by our general dentist, contact our clinic today.