Snoring and Sleep Apnea Dentist
Do you snore while you are sleeping? Do you have symptoms of snoring and sleep apnea? Do you have daytime fatigue?
Snoring and sleep apnea are serious health issues that impact your overall well-being. At Mercer Island Dental, Dr. Goichi Shiotsu and Dr. Ryan Tam specialize in sleep apnea treatment with effective dental sleep medicine and techniques.
Our expert dentists use state-of-the-art dental appliance therapy and laser treatment to treat and manage obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep-breathing disorders. If you are experiencing symptoms like loud snoring or daytime sleepiness, it may be an indication of sleep apnea.
Call (206) 232-3600 to schedule your FREE sleep apnea consultation NOW to get relief and enjoy a sound sleep and active life.
Click Now For Your FREE Sleep Apnea Consultation
Sleep apnea not only disturbs your sleep cycle but also raises serious health concerns, which encompasses insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. Our skilled and caring dental team is always dedicated to improving your sleep quality and overall health. Relieve your pain today!
What Causes Sleep Apnea and Snoring?
Do you know that two-thirds of Americans snore while they are sleeping? Snoring is a common condition that affects most of the population.
The major reason for snoring is the vibration of your tongue and other tissues surrounding your sinuses or throat against one another when you breathe. These vibrations occur when your throat muscles relax too much during sleep, which leads to a spatial obstruction in the airway. The snoring sound can vary from a gentle purr sound to a loud roar.
Snoring can be a symptom of sleep apnea, a potentially serious sleep disorder where breathing stops and starts. You might wonder, can sleep apnea kill you? Yes! It is a life-threatening disorder that leads to heart disease and diabetes. But there are people who are unaware of their condition and consider it normal.
It can be a challenge for your bed partner, disturbing their sleep. It also limits the flow of air through your airway to your lungs. It results in fragmented sleep and decreased blood oxygen levels, making you and your partner sleepless and tired.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where you experience interruptions in breathing during sleep. It can lead to severe health problems if left untreated. There are two main types of sleep apnea:
- Obstructive sleep apnea: the muscles of your throat relax and block your air passageway.
- Central sleep apnea: the brain fails to send signals to your muscles for controlled breathing.
Signs of Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea symptoms often include the following:
- Choking or gasping during sleep
- Daytime sleep
- Difficulty concentrating
- Increased heart rate
- Headaches
- Mood swings
These symptoms not only affect your daily life but also increase the risk of conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.
At Mercer Island Dental, we offer effective dental treatments to help manage sleep apnea and snoring. We use oral appliance therapy that improves your sleep quality and well-being.
Mercer Island Significantly Treats Sleep Apnea!
Our dentists are skilled in providing you with sleep apnea treatment. Dr. Goich Shiotsu and Dr. Ryan Tam specialize in sleep apnea treatment and offer state-of-the-art technology to aid you in managing it carefully.
Our dentists are equipped to handle sleep-related respiratory issues, such as snoring and obstructive sleep apnea OSA.
Mercer Island Dental utilizes advanced dental appliances and NightLase laser therapy to ensure effective treatment results.
These appliances are designed to keep your airway open during sleep, thus reducing the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea and improving the quality of your sleep.
By working closely with our sleep physicians, we ensure that you receive the highest level of care tailored to your unique needs. We are dedicated to helping you achieve better health and restful sleep through personalized treatment plans.
Click Now For Your FREE Sleep Apnea Consultation
Do I Need To Worry About Sleep Apnea?
Yes! Sleep apnea poses a serious risk to your health by drastically reducing the oxygen levels in your body during sleep. Our dental office provides sleep apnea tests by monitoring your breathing patterns when you are sleeping. After a meticulous examination, we will discuss how we can assist you in improving your sleep quality.
Sleep apnea has three forms based on your severity, with obstructive sleep apnea OSA being the most prevalent. It is a disorder in which your upper airway becomes obstructed due to relaxed throat muscles or sinus tissues, causing blockage while you sleep. You may be unaware of your condition and instinctively wake up to resume breathing and increase oxygen intake.
Our highly experienced sleep apnea dentists understand your needs and make a personalized treatment plan to help you achieve optimal overall health.
Home Sleep Apnea Testing For Diagnosis!
Our dentists, DR. Goichi Shiotsu and Dr. Ryan Tam, conducted a sleep study that involved a noninvasive test to diagnose sleep disorders. We provide you with a portable monitoring device for a comfortable and convenient dental sleep study at home.
It is not like a traditional sleep study, which involves constant video monitoring that can make you feel self-conscious; a home study offers privacy. Formal hospital studies can be costly, which is why we recommend at-home monitoring, which is affordable and equally effective.
The device logs essential information such as respiration rhythms, oxygen concentrations, and pulse rate. From this data, we will be able to understand your sleep disorder and determine the best treatment options for you.
Health Risk of Sleep Apnea
Most people underestimate the severity of sleep apnea, which can pose significant health risks and even be fatal if not properly managed. Individuals with this sleep disorder are subject to increased risk factors such as:
- Heart attacks
- Heart failure
- Increased risk of stroke
- Significant weight gain
- Migraines and headaches
- Alzheimer's disease
- Impotence
- Type 2 diabetes
- Restlessness and hostility
- Sleepiness during day
- Memory impairment
Our Innovative Treatment Options at Mercer Island!
At Mercer Island Dental, we provide the following treatment options for improving your sleep apnea:
- Invisalign: We align your teeth with Invisalign, which can significantly reposition your tongue and jaw. This adjustment can open up your airway, alleviate pressure on your tongue, and enhance airflow, thereby reducing sleep apnea symptoms of dental devices.
- NightLase: We use this non-surgical laser procedure to expand your airway, making it a compelling alternative to surgery. NightLase tightens and shrinks the tissues around your throat and tongue, enlarging the airway and reducing the risk of obstruction during sleep.
- Oral Appliance: We customize a device to fit your teeth; a sleep apnea dental appliance resembles a mouthguard. It is designed to keep your jaw in a position that maintains an open throat and continuous positive airway pressure, thereby improving airflow and minimizing apnea events.
- Palate Expander: This custom device gradually widens your sinuses and palate, providing more space for air to pass through. By maintaining an open airway, the palate expander enhances airflow during sleep.
By choosing Mercer Island Dental, you can be confident that you receive specialized care from a team dedicated to improving your sleep and overall health.
Ready to Sleep Better, Feel Better, and Become Healthier?
At Mercer Island Dental, we provide advanced sleep apnea treatments to help you attain the highest level of dental and overall health. Our latest treatment options not only improve your breathing but enhance the aesthetics of your smile.
Click Now For Your FREE Sleep Apnea Consultation
Call 206-232-3600 NOW to schedule your Free sleep apnea consultation, and we will help you get rid of snoring and sleep apnea for good.
