Burke, Fairfax and Fairfax Station, VA
If your partner snores, you might joke about it with your friends and loved ones. However, if that snoring is loud enough to disrupt your sleep, it isn’t so funny. Snoring also could be a sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a serious medical condition that can lead to chronic and severe consequences for your health. Your sleep apnea dentist in Burke explores the dangers of snoring today on the blog.
What happens when you snore?
When you snore, you make this sound because you are struggling to pass air through your throat. The louder your snoring is, the greater this struggle is. Snoring can classify as a mild sleep breathing disorder on its own but also can be an indicator of a more serious disorder.
Loud snoring is considered the major warning sign of obstructive sleep apnea
Someone with this sleep breathing disorder experiences airway blockages when they sleep. These blockages may be partial or complete, with potential causes including the collapse of the throat muscles to obstruct the airway or the mouth not having enough room to accommodate the tongue, meaning it slides back into the airway.
Each time one of these blockages occurs, it is known as an apneic event. This impediment or complete interruption in breathing leads oxygen levels to drop. In the latter scenario, someone with sleep apnea often makes gasping or choking sounds as they struggle to breathe. This eventually triggers the brain into a response, as it believes you are choking to death, and sends signals to the body to resume normal breathing.
In the vast majority of cases, someone with sleep apnea never consciously wakes up. However, when the brain signals the body to resume breathing, this disrupts the sleep cycle. Consequently, a sleep apnea patient spends less time in the deepest stages of sleep, which are crucial to both physical and mental restoration. Now, when you consider that a severe, untreated case of sleep apnea may lead to hundreds of apneic events per night, just imagine the impact this has on the ability to get quality rest.
A sleep test is a key diagnostic tool to identify sleep apnea
The actual number of sleep apnea cases only can be estimated, as many people go without having this disorder diagnosed, much less treated. A sleep test can provide necessary data to determine if sleep apnea is present. In the past, this meant staying up all night and then going to a medical practitioner’s office the next day, then attempting to rest in an unfamiliar environment while hooked to wires, sensors and machines. Technology, thankfully, has advanced to where these sleep studies can be conducted at home.
At Pamela Marzban, DDS, we offer the WatchPAT™ at-home sleep apnea screening test. You maintain your usual bedtime routine, and the data from just a couple of nights of sleep provides enough information for a sleep specialist to make an official diagnosis. From there, you can return to your sleep apnea dentist in Burke to receive treatment by addressing the root cause of the airway blockages, preventing future apneic events and giving you the opportunity at the deep, restful… and snore-free… sleep you have been denied.
Sleep apnea treatment in Burke, Virginia
In conclusion, loud snoring on a regular basis can be a sign of sleep apnea. If you or someone you love is a snorer, then schedule a consultation at the office of Pamela Marzban, DDS, today. Just call 703-323-8200 or complete our online appointment request form.