If you are suffering from snoring or sleep apnea in Warrenton, VA, what do you often do first? You might contact your physician or an ENT specialist. While this might seem like the best line of defense, you’re actually skipping a key person: Your dentist. Because your dentist provides care for you at least twice a year, it places them in a unique position to help treat your sleep apnea and snoring.
What are the Oral Origins?
Snoring and sleep apnea are both caused by a collapse of the upper airway when the muscles relax during sleep, causing you to stop breathing during the night. The largest muscle, and the most likely culprit for the collapse of the airway is the tongue, which is much larger than most people realize. The tongue is present in the mouth but it also extends down the throat and beyond throughout most of the length of the collapsible upper airway.
What is the Dentist’s Role?
Dr. Bonnie Foster, our dentist in Warrenton, VA, has maintained advanced training in oral appliance therapy for the treatment of sleep apnea. Through this, she can provide you with a custom-fit FDA-approved dental device to help control the collapsing of the tongue into the airway. An oral appliance allows you to stop snoring, and sleep and breathe easier throughout the night—waking up refreshed and ready to take on the day.
Additionally, the availability of oral appliance therapy helps to prevent the collapse of the tongue into the airway by moving the jaw forward, allowing air to flow from the mouth to the lungs so you can breathe properly. By opening the airway with an oral appliance, snoring and sleep apnea is decreased. The availability of oral appliance therapy poses as a less invasive and more predictable solution as opposed to surgery.
Contact us to learn more about why you should visit Dr. Bonnie Foster in Warrenton for sleep apnea treatment with oral appliance therapy.