You know that it is time for a dental sleep treatment if you are having difficulty staying awake while driving. Those that do not get enough rest while sleeping find that they are so tired the next day that it is difficult to complete normal daily activities. While everyone has a bad night from time to time, this can be far more serious. If you constantly wake up without any energy and become drowsy – you could have obstructive sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea can pose many dangers to your health and one distinct danger to those around you. If you drive while drowsy or exhausted, you could cause a car accident. In fact, many reports have suggested that driving while drowsy is just as bad as driving while intoxicated. If you wouldn’t get behind the wheel drunk, you shouldn’t drive tired. The publication Sleep published a report that found those with sleep apnea were 2.5 times more likely to be the driver in a car accident than those without. Further research should be conducted to gather additional data, but the initial report is alarming enough. While everyone knows how fatigue can make you nod off while watching a movie, this report indicates that fatigue may make you nod off or react too slowly while driving as well. Even though much of this is common sense, we recommend that you take notice of your driving and if you become too tired for this simple task, don’t delay in seeking treatment.
The challenge that a lot of people have is that they are going to bed at a decent hour and technically getting enough sleep, only to wake up exhausted the next day. Many people try to go to bed earlier, cut back on the caffeine, or take vitamins to help. The problem is that if you have obstructive sleep apnea, these measures simply won’t help because they are not addressing the core problem. The issue with obstructive sleep apnea is that your airways become blocked during sleep. It typically occurs because the muscles supporting your jawbone are weakened, and your lower jaw falls backward at night. When it does, your tongue falls backward as well, blocking your airways. This can often lead to severe snoring or choking as people struggle to move their tongue in order to breathe while sleeping. Given the reduced amount of oxygen you would be getting while breathing, you could wake up the next day feeling incredibly tired, even if you went to bed early. We can diagnose and treat this condition in our dental office and give you a dental sleep treatment.
Treating obstructive sleep apnea is easier than you may think. In fact, the process is entirely non-invasive. Once we have confirmed that you suffer from the condition, we will take measurements of your mouth and make an impression. This information will be used to have a removable oral appliance created in the dental lab. This appliance will fit securely around your upper and lower teeth. When worn, it will hold your jaw in place so that it cannot fall backward at night, and your airways remain clear. Given how simple the dental sleep treatment is, don’t delay in seeking help if you are fighting constant fatigue.