Sleep apnea is a serious issue that can negatively affect your dental and overall health. Most people don’t even know they have it. It is considered one of the most prevalent of all types of sleep disorders and can be categorized as central, mixed and obstructive sleep apnea.
Diagnosis & Treatment of Sleep Apnea
Typically, a diagnosis of sleep apnea is made by a medical physician, but dental professionals are now more commonly the first line of defense to assess and help manage people with this condition. One common treatment used is oral appliance therapy, a famous alternative for people with apnea that can’t tolerate the traditional Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or CPAP.
Currently, with the continuous development in the field of orthodontics, we have progressive and less invasive methods of managing constrictive airways. This interceptive approach is better known as Airway Centric Orthodontics. It is known to help reduce the chance of acquiring sleep apnea. At myORTHODONTIST, we offer Airway Focused Orthodontics to optimize airway passages that help in breathing function and thus decrease the chance of developing sleep apnea.
The cause of sleep apnea focuses on airway resistance, which can result in breathing problems. With Airway Centric Orthodontics, dental practitioners can assist in preventing one of the predisposing factors that cause sleep apnea; not having a properly developed maxillofacial complex. The goal of airway centric treatment is prevention, in which a clear and open airway leads to a healthy sleeping and breathing function.
According to a study, one of the main elements in treating OSA and other functional breathing problems is to restore functional nasal breathing and prevent airway collapse. Patients with OSA usually experience nasal obstruction and airway centred orthodontics’ primary standard of care deals with optimizing the airway.