Trouble Sleeping? Why Not Talk To Your… Dentist?

You heard right. Although the awesome staff at Leesburg Dentists may not be the first people you think of when you’re having trouble sleeping, they might be worth a call.

Quite often, a poor sleeping condition is a cause of sleep apnea. Someone with sleep apnea suffers from either pauses in breathing or from an extremely shallow inhalation during sleep. If you have sleep apnea, the first person to identify it will most likely be your partner. A common sign of sleep apnea is when you or your partner snorts or chokes during his or her sleep. If you believe that you or someone you know has sleep apnea, you should consult a doctor right away.

One of the ways that sleep apnea can be treated is with the use of a snore guard provided by your dentist. Snore guards, more or less resemble sports guards except snore guards lower the jaw and move it forward ever so slightly. This is done to allow a sufficient amount of air down one’s throat. The main reason people snore or suffer from sleep apnea is because the airway is blocked.

A tongue-retraining tool can also be used to hold the tongue in place so that it doesn’t block the air passage. This device uses a splint to hold the tongue in the correct position so that it doesn’t wander into obstructive territory. If you’re going to use this splint you’ll have to make numerous visits to the dentist for adjustments.

No matter what sleeping problem you may have, feel free to ask the doctors at Leesburg Dentists how you can improve your sleeping situation.