Treat Your Sleep Apnea in The Woodlands to Rest Throughout the Night
Sleep apnea in The Woodlands doesn’t just deprive you of restful sleep; it can also deprive you of your good health. Research has linked apnea to several serious health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
Dr Burgess on Sleep Apnea
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Dr Burgess on Sleep Apnea
I've been practicing for many years, and I've noticed one correlation between sleep apnea and teeth wear. What we've come to understand through a lot of sleep studies and science that's gone before is that this connection between your clenching of your teeth and sleep apnea is related to your airway collapsing and you're trying to breathe. These muscles just clench together a bit to wake you up so you can breathe. We used to think this was just stress, but there are connections which need to be addressed.
If necessary, we can do some general screening exams here in the office, and we can actually send you home with a pulse oximeter to actually register and course very fundamental screening signals here for that. If indicated, we can convert you to go over to our sleep physicians in the area and get a full-fledged in-house sleep study and do an accurate diagnosis to decide if you truly are sleep-obstructed apnea or if you're central apnea. The point is, we work directly with these physicians, and if CPAP is not an option for you – and it's not for half the people that try it – then we can actually, in lieu of that, provide you with a dental appliance, which will move your lower jaw forward to open your throat so you can breathe better and accomplish the same end.
Our sleep apnea treatment will:
- Enable you, and other members of your household, to get a good night’s sleep
- Help you stay more alert and focused during the day
- Relieve unpleasant symptoms like dry mouth, headache, and irritability
- Improve your overall well-being by lowering your risk of related health issues
- Keep you more comfortable than some other methods of treating apnea
We’re happy to discuss sleep apnea symptoms during your next dental exam. If loud snoring is keeping you and your bed partner awake, or if you’re experiencing other symptoms, call us today at 281-720-3163.
Breathe Better With the Right Sleep Apnea Diagnosis & Treatment
We’ll assess your condition with some sleep apnea tests, including:
- Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) – This questionnaire measures your daytime sleepiness.
- Pulse Oximetry – You’ll wear a simple device that measures the oxygen levels in your blood while you sleep.
The tests will help us determine if you have obstructive sleep apnea, a condition characterized by frequent brief interruptions of breathing during sleep. The condition is caused when your tongue or other soft tissue blocks your airway.
If necessary, we’ll help you obtain a formal sleep apnea diagnosis from a medical doctor and will work with the doctor to coordinate your treatment. If it seems you have a more severe form of obstructive sleep apnea, we’ll refer you to local sleep expert Dr. Katherine Phillips.
We like to use a sleep apnea appliance called a Thornton Adjustable Positioner (TAP). It’s one of the most widely used sleep apnea devices – and understandably so:
- It allows you to make adjustments yourself.
- It’s custom-made, so it will fit you perfectly and be comfortable to wear.
- Unlike a CPAP machine, another common type of sleep apnea treatment, the appliance doesn’t obstruct your face or restrict movement with tubing.
- Most sleep apnea patients – and their bed partners – find an appliance easier to adjust to than a CPAP.
If you think you have sleep apnea in The Woodlands, call Smiles by Burgess at 281-720-3163. You can also schedule an appointment using our online form.
