Sleep Disorders
Sleeping through the night is often an elusive thing for some people. Waking during the night, inability to fall asleep or stay asleep, snoring, and daytime drowsiness are hallmarks of sleep disorders. While there are many types an causes of sleep disorders, it is best for a patient to seek help from a physician to prevent a disruption of daily functionability.
There are several types of sleep disorders, the most common of which are restless leg syndrome, insomnia, sleep apnea, and narcolepsy. With narcolepsy, a person feels extremely drowsy during the day and may even involuntarily fall asleep doing mundane tasks, including driving and reading. In the case of restless leg syndrome, the patient feels that he must move his legs because of an "itching" or "crawling" feeling in the limbs. Both this and narcolepsy have been successfully treated with medications available from ones physician. Other forms of sleep disorders can be helped by a dentist or orthodontist. These include sleep apnea and sometimes insomnia. The underlying causes of these sleep disorders will determine the ability of the dentist to help the patient.
Insomnia is often the result of lifestyle factors such as smoking, too much caffeine or other stimulants, and stress. While a dentist cannot change the patient's lifestyle, if stress is causing insomnia, it could have an unwanted side effect – bruxism also known as tooth grinding. Most often the patient himself might not notice a problem aside from daytime sleepiness or some jaw pain, but his spouse will usually hear his tooth grinding at night and beg for treatment. This sleep disorder is a result of stress, the same sort of stress that might lead to insomnia in the first place. If left untreated, bruxism – or tooth grinding – can lead to the wearing away of the tooth surfaces or the enamel. A dentist might even spot the worn surfaces, and ask the patient if he has any sleep disorders. In order to treat bruxism, the dentist will fit the patient with a night guard that is worn at night to prevent the teeth from grinding against each other. These night guards are specially molded by the dentist to fit the patient, and it is the only way to ensure that the night guard will properly work. Over the counter remedies for bruxism are not recommended as they often do not fit properly and may do more harm than good.
If a patient exhibits snoring, repeatedly awakening during the night, or stopping breathing several times at night, the dentist might suspect that sleep apnea is the cause. If there is any physical abnormality that blocks the airway, a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea might be made. This form of sleep disorder is best treated by a dentist, oral surgeon, or orthodontist with experience in this field. Usually the treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is some form of oral surgery, which requires an experienced expert to conduct. While there are procedures that can be done in the dentist's office such as radio frequency tissue ablation (RFTA) also known as Somnoplasty, most obstructive sleep apnea surgery options will require an overnight stay to ensure that the patient does not have an adverse reaction to the anesthetic or procedure. Depending upon the type of surgery required, a patient may have to follow up several times with his dentist to verify effectivness. A close relationship with the dentist will help determine the outcome of the treatment of this sleep disorder.
