How Our Dentists Can Help With Your Sleep

Sleep Better, Live Better: How Our Dentists Can Help Improve Your Sleep

Are you waking up feeling tired and feel like you never sleep well? Or has your partner complained to you about your snoring?

You may be feeling refreshed in the morning, but this is just what you are use to - what if you could be sleeping better?

Sleep is a very important part of our normal function. The lack of good quality sleep is associated with poorer productivity, poorer learning and higher risk of death (from medical complications such as cardiovascular disease).

Unfortunately, sleep apnea is highly prevalent in our population. This is the result of the tongue collapsing back against our airway during deep sleep, thus obstructing it and causing intermittent gasps of breathing. Snoring is a sign of partial obstruction of the airway and is not normal.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be a serious condition requiring medical intervention, but what can the dentist do about it?

At Officer Smiles, our dentists in Officer are aware of the signs, symptoms and consequences that come with OSA.

This includes a thorough assessment of your tonsils and your teeth for evidence of grinding. Grinding at night is known to be associated with OSA.

From our assessment, if we suspect OSA from either your history or there are signs in your mouth of it, we may refer you to our sleep physician medical colleagues for further assessment. This may involve a sleep study to measure the severity of the sleep apnea and treatment of large tonsils/adenoids, sinus issues or allergies.

We may also recommend appropriate lifestyle advice such as quitting drinking, smoking and losing weight. These changes can help improve the quality of your sleep.

Our dentists in Officer may also get you to work along side myofunctional therapists, who help to design tongue and mouth exercises for you to strengthen the tongue muscles, which help to prevent collapse during sleep.

Our team at Officer Smiles understand that not every individual can tolerate the continuous positive airway pressure device (CPAP) for their sleep apnea. Fortunately, some people can avoid the need for CPAP with the use of a Mandibular Advancement Splint (MAS), which is an appliance that brings the jaw forwards during sleep. We can help design and fabricate an appliance that works for you in alleviating symptoms of OSA.

All treatment carries risks. Individual consultation is required with one of our practitioners to ensure that the treatment is right for you. Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner. Contact us on (03) 8351 5466 for more information.