Sleep apnea is the closing of the back of the throat. And what we do is we give you a sleep appliance that brings your lower jaw forward so you can open up your windpipe so you can breathe. Once you’re able to breathe and get a good night’s sleep, you’re able to function better at work, you’re able to make your wife happy or your husband happy because you’re not snoring next to them.
Some of the signs that you have sleep apnea is if you’re married or you have a spouse, your spouse keeps elbowing you in the middle of the night telling you that, “You’re snoring, you’re waking me up.” If you’re tired all the time, if you can’t function at work, if you’re sitting at a stoplight and you tend to fall asleep, those are some of the signs that you have sleep apnea. You need to come in and talk to us so we can see what’s going on and go from there.
Once patients have been treated with a sleep appliance, I usually tell them that they’re going to be a patient of mine for the rest of their life because as we get older, the soft tissue in the back of the throat changes. But the patients have really, really enjoyed it. It’s a lot better than some of the surgeries out here that you have to go through to reduce it, but there’s no surgery involved. It’s just a sleep appliance that you have to put in your mouth and we check it. That’s the difference between us and everybody else. Once you get your sleep appliance, we check you through a different kind of equipment to make sure that you’re breathing like you’re supposed to be breathing.
Feel Rested & Refreshed With Zanesville Sleep Apnea Treatment
You can get a good night’s rest with sleep apnea treatment in Zanesville, OH. We’ll relieve your sleep apnea symptoms with a custom oral appliance. It will improve your oral health and give you quality sleep. You will appreciate:
- A comfortable fit since it’s custom-made for you.
- Easily breathing, speaking, and possibly drinking liquids when wearing your appliance
- Possibly having your appliance covered by your medical insurance plan
Call 740-214-1301 for an appointment. You can also bring up your apnea concerns at your next dental checkup. Don’t wait! Research has linked sleep apnea to serious health conditions, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and depression.
Diagnosis Your Apnea & Enjoy Better Rest Soon
Dr. Hawkins is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, an independent, nonprofit board that certifies licensed dentists who treat sleep-related breathing disorders. Many dentists offer treatment for sleep apnea, but Dr. Hawkins has the credentials to back it up! He’s the first dentist in southeastern Ohio to receive national accreditation from the organization.
The first step in treating sleep apnea is getting a diagnosis. You can:
- Get Your Apnea Diagnosis – Dr. Hawkins often works closely with physicians to help patients get a sleep study. However, your diagnosis must come from a physician. It can be your own personal physician that you’ve chosen.
- Easily Test at Home – We can provide a machine you can use in the comfort of your own home. It monitors breathing changes as you sleep.
- Enjoy Convenient Results – We will download the data and send it to the physician of your choice. They use it to make a diagnosis. Many people find this less stressful than spending the night in a sleep center.
Treat Sleep Apnea With a Comfortable Oral Appliance
The most common form of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, is caused when your tongue or other soft tissue blocks your airway. Sleep apnea sufferers frequently gasp to breathe and partially awaken – sometimes as many as hundreds of times a night. We can treat your sleep apnea with an FDA-approved custom oral appliance. It gently shifts your jaw forward to keep your airway open.
There are numerous types of appliances. This is where Dr. Hawkins’ expertise comes in. He can determine which one will work best for you. More comfortable than a CPAP machine, oral appliances are:
- Easier to Use and Maintain – Just insert the appliance into your mouth. You won’t have to find an electric outlet. Oral appliances are easier to clean, too
- Convenient to Transport – An oral appliance easily fits into a pocket or a purse.
- Comfortable to Wear – There won’t be any worries about becoming disconnected from an oral appliance during the night.
- Less Distracting – You and your bed partner will not be bothered by a noisy sleep apnea appliance. We create one that fits easily in your mouth and makes no noise.
The appliances work well for mild and moderate cases of sleep apnea. A CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine is often recommended for more severe cases. However, some people find a CPAP too restrictive or uncomfortable. One study found only about half of people prescribed a CPAP continued to use it five years after their sleep apnea diagnosis. In some cases, an oral appliance is a good alternative to a CPAP machine.
Call Hawkins Complete Dental Service now at 740-214-1301 for a consultation. You can also request an appointment online. It’s never been easier to get a good night’s sleep with Zanesville sleep apnea treatment.
Sleep apnea is a disorder where your breathing is disrupted repeatedly while you sleep. The cause of the disruption determines which type of sleep apnea you have, either obstructive or central. Obstructive sleep apnea is most common, characterized by the airways becoming blocked over and over while you sleep. Central sleep apnea is caused by the brain’s failure to send the proper messages to your body’s breathing mechanisms and is much more serious.
You might first suspect sleep apnea if you or your partner snore loudly night after night and no gadget or change of position seems to alleviate it. But there are many other symptoms of sleep apnea, such as daily fatigue, lapses in memory and concentration, irritability, headaches, dry mouth and sore throat in the mornings, high blood pressure, and weight gain.
Dr. Hawkins can create a custom oral appliance to fit your mouth perfectly while you sleep. This simple device is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and is more comfortable than a CPAP mask that’s worn over the nose and mouth. Our custom appliance moves the jaw forward in an ideal position for easy breathing all night long so you can get deeper, restful sleep.