Burke, Fairfax and Fairfax Station, VA
Are you considering a “sleep divorce” after struggling to get a peaceful night’s sleep in bed with your partner? While some medical professionals suggest that the idea of sleeping in separate bedrooms isn’t as negative as it may seem, sleep divorces can lead to, well, actual divorces.
Sleep divorces may be okay if both partners, sleeping separately, receive a full night’s sleep. But the likely reason behind the sleep divorce is that one partner snores. And that means that the snoring partner, even if his/her spouse isn’t constantly waking him or her to stop the snoring, is still not receiving restorative sleep.
Let’s take a look today at how our Burke sleep apnea dentist may be able to save your relationship from a sleep divorce.
Why does my partner snore?
Snoring can have a few different causes, but one of the most common is obstructive sleep apnea. Pauses in breathing during the night are almost always a telltale sign of sleep apnea.
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep-breathing disorder that affects 25 million American adults, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. During sleep, the soft tissue of the mouth, throat and tongue muscles relax. In someone with sleep apnea, the relaxed soft throat tissue causes the airway to become blocked. The brain responds by startling the person awake to breathe. While the sleep-apnea sufferer may have no recollection of this happening — up to 100 times a night in the most severe cases — the frequent pauses in breathing repeatedly disrupt the sleep cycle, preventing the snorer from reaping the benefits of the restorative stages of sleep.
Is disturbed sleep really that bad?
Restless and disrupted sleep impairs daytime concentration and productivity. People with sleep apnea have a higher health risk for high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke. Fatigue and a decreased ability to concentrate can negatively impact mental performance, potentially leading to devastating consequences when operating a car or heavy machinery.
How is sleep apnea treated?
Our airway dentist near Fairfax Station, Dr. Pam Marzban, will schedule you for a consultation and a simple, non-invasive exam to determine if you have sleep apnea and, if so, how severe it is. We may need to refer patients for a sleep study to confirm the diagnosis.
Our Burke sleep apnea dentist treats mild to moderate cases of sleep apnea with oral appliance therapy, which involves taking digital images of your teeth and mouth so we can custom-make a device that looks and feels like a mouthguard. The appliances, which are comfortable to wear, reposition the jaw to open the airway. This therapy replaces the more cumbersome continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, which has a reputation for being uncomfortable, noisy and difficult to clean.
Sleep apnea dentist in Burke, Fairfax, and Fairfax Station, Virginia
Sleep apnea doesn’t need to wreck your days, your life or your relationship. Our office in the Northern Virginia area near Burke, Fairfax and Fairfax Station can help. Give us a call at (703) 323-8200, or reach out to us online to schedule a consultation today.
