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Symptoms of daytime sleepiness, nighttime snoring, or repeatedly awakening during the night should guide the sufferer to a medical professional for a consultation. After an overnight sleep study has been done, called a polysomnography, the patient's doctor will determine if a diagnosis of sleep apnea should be made. Then, possible causes of sleep apnea for that patient are considered. To whom the patient is referred for treatment is determined by the type of sleep apnea from which he/she is afflicted. The patient is most likely to be referred to a dentist, oral surgeon or orthodontist for treatment, especially if he/she has the most common form, obstructive sleep apnea, since care for this type of the disorder usually means oral surgery. A dentist will also consult for the rarer type, central sleep apnea, as it may require the fitting of a facial mask for sleeping. The causes of sleep apnea, like the treatments differ by their forms. While both obstructive and central sleep apnea disrupt sleep, the causes of sleep apnea of these forms, and how to cure it can vary greatly.
Obstructive sleep apnea is the most commonly seen form, and many dentists and oral surgeons have many years' worth of experience treating it. Serveral factors could be causes of sleep apnea of the obstructive kind. Occasionally in people, the muscles at the back of the throat relax too much. This leads to the soft tissues such as the tonsils, tongue, and uvula to sag down and temporarily block the airway. Usually, this occurs more often when the patient is asleep on his back. Alcohol, tranquillizers, and sleeping pills are designed to relax the entire body, and as a result these can lead to sleep apnea, disrupting the patient's slumber rather than aiding it. It is not just a matter of the muscles relaxing. Anything that constricts the airway can cause sleep apnea. A naturally narrow neck or throat or swollen tonsils or adenoids could be a risk factor since all of these could block the airway and cause sleep apnea.
Unlike obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea (CSA) has no known physical deformity at its root. The basis of this affliction lies in the brain. With CSA, the patient's brain does not send the proper signals to the lungs to breathe enough or with regularity at night. Many believe that one cause of this sleep apnea is heart disease or hypertension, as these can both affect blood flow to the brain, which in turn slows brain function. Another possible cause of sleep apnea of this form is drug use, since drugs, especially sleeping medicines and opiates, greatly affect the brain chemistry and funtion. Due to the fact that a physical problem is not a cause of sleep apnea of the central type, surgery is unlikely to help, but a dentist might fit the patient with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask to force air into the lungs during sleep. The goal is to have a constant flow of oxygen to the lungs, so that the patient does not continually awaken at night.
The causes of sleep apnea will differ depending upon the type, but once a diagnosis is made, a dentist, oral surgeon, or orthodontist is likely to be the physician the patient turns to for treatment. The experience of the dentist in treating sleep apnea will likely determine the speed in which the patient receives relief from his/her symptoms.
Cosmetic Dentistry is a specialized field that requires extensive knowledge and experience to be done correctly. The Medical Center Dental Group in Houston, Texas brings all of that and more to the direct benefit of each and every patient we treat. Although we are located in the world famous Houston Medical Center at Scurlock Towers, we routinely see dental patients who travel from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Beaumont and Midland Texas to see Dr. Dale Brant, Dr. Charles Campbell or Dr. Elizabeth O’Sullivan-Winslow for their cosmetic denistry services.
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