Dental sleep medicine

As mentioned on the snoring page, snoring is associated with a reduction in airflow at the back of the mouth. For a number of patients snoring is associated with a disorder called sleep apnoea. Sleep apnoea occurs when breathing stops for periods of more than 10 seconds and these non-breathing periods occur more than five times per hour. The condition is considered mild when these non-breathing events occur 5-15 times per hour, moderate at a level of 16-25 times per hour, and severe when it happens more than that. Dental sleep medicine could be of help to those with sleep apnoea. One of the common symptoms associated with this condition is excessive daytime sleepiness. Feeling tired all the time can hugely affect quality of life. When energy levels are low, mood is negatively affected, concentration and academic performance is poor, and a patient’s general health will suffer. Moderate to severe sleep apnoea has been associated with diabetes, hypertension and stroke. Sleep apnoea is diagnosed by sleep specialists with the aid of an overnight sleep study. However there are two simple questionnaires that may indicate whether or not a patient has sleep apnoea and both are included below. These are the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and the StopBang questionnaires. Click on the links below to access these questionnaires.

Snoring devices

Snoring devices can be very helpful. Treatment is traditionally with a CPAP device (continuous positive airway pressure). Essentially this involves wearing a breathing mask over the nose or mouth when sleeping. Air is pumped through the mask to keep the airway open.

Sleep snoring devices

While effective for treating sleep apnoea, sleep snoring devices are sometimes uncomfortable to use. However in many cases, patients with mild to moderate sleep apnoea can also be effectively managed with oral devices such as those described above.

If you would like more information on this topic please call 01 2863040 to schedule an appointment.

www.britishsnoring.co.uk

www.stopbang.ca

Snoring

Read more about snoring here.