Snoring and Sleep Apnea Treatment

Common Sleep Disorders For Jefferson City Patients

C-Pap Machines | Alternative Treatment | FAQs | Schedule

Couple struggling with sleep apnea in Jefferson CityDo you feel exhausted when you wake up in the morning, no matter how many hours of sleep you get? Are you struggling to stay awake during the day? Are you finding yourself easily irritated, easily distracted or unable to focus properly? Is your sleep partner complaining about your snoring?

If so, you may have one of the sleep disorders called sleep apnea. Sleep apnea actually means sleep interruption. The interruptions are only a few seconds long typically, but some of our patients in the Wardsville MO area have found that they have hundreds of sleep apnea incidents every night! This can hinder you from getting good sleep, affect your oral health and you will probably soon begin to experience some of the side affects of this unpleasant and potentially harmful sleep disorder.

C-Pap Machines

There are several sleep disorders treatments for sleep apnea and snoring, including using a C-Pap. A C-Pap is a machine that enhances and monitors your breathing by having you use a mask and tube. However, a C-Pap is not always the best treatment for many reasons.

  • Some people cannot relax enough to sleep when wearing a mask all night or they take the mask off during the night. Once the mask is off, the sleep disorders treatment ceases for that night until the mask is put on again. In the meantime, you will probably commence snoring and your sleep partner may begin to complain.
  • If you are traveling (such as a camping trip) where you don’t have access to electricity and don’t want to get a generator or battery, a C-Pap is useless as it runs on electricity.
  • C-Paps are bulky and breakable so that makes them hard to transport if you are traveling.

Alternative Snoring and Sleep Apnea Treatment

There is another and perhaps better treatment for sleep apnea and snoring that we can offer to you. It is a nightguard. This is a custom made mouth guard that is something like the kind of mouth guard that people who play sports use to protect your teeth.

For sleep disorders, nightguards are amazing. Their system is simple. A nightguard adjusts your jaw so your mouth is positioned differently. This keeps you from snoring and gives you relief from sleep apnea. It is a fabulous alternative to using a C-Pap. For answers to frequently asked questions, check out our sleep apnea FAQ page.

Frequentaly Asked Questions

So What If I Snore?
Snoring is often a symptom of other sleep disorders. Researchers have found that 70% of people who snore almost every night have a condition called sleep apnea, which can be very dangerous to your health.

Sleep apnea prevents getting a good nights sleep because your body stops getting enough oxygen. This lack of oxygen can increase the risk of stroke and heart attack and make high blood pressure, type II diabetes, and high cholesterol present earlier in life and more difficult to treat. Other common problems connected with sleep apnea include acid reflux, morning headaches, depression, irritability, night frequency, and decreased sex drive.

Obstructive sleep apnea is by far the most common threat to healthy sleep. It occurs when the soft tissue in the back of the throat relaxes to the extent that it either restricts or shuts off the airway.

Sleep partner observations can oftentimes be very helpful in identifying sleep apnea. Those observations may include choking, snorting or gasping sounds as well as stopping breathing and labored breathing.

What Do I Do If I Suspect I May Have Sleep Apnea?
Take charge. Get a diagnosis or at least start with a risk evaluation and screening.

Sleep apnea has been called the most important public health problem of our time because it is so severely underdiagnosed and can contribute to fatal conditions.

Above all, do not avoid getting a diagnosis because you are anxious about the process or sleep apnea treatment. Today there are many options for diagnosing and treating sleep disorders and more are being developed as you read this current information. Yes, CPAP machines and hospital sleep studies are some of the sleep apnea treatment options, but there are others.

Does Jefferson City Dental Care Offer Sleep Apnea Treatment?
Some of the current and future options for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders like sleep apnea are being provided in dental offices all over the world. At Jefferson City Dental Care we work hand in glove with the local family physicians and sleep specialty physicians as well as networking with sleep clinicians all over the United States.

Dr. Michael Thompson, a long-time Jefferson City Dentist and part of Jefferson City Dental Care since it was established is no longer practicing dentistry as he knew it for forty years and is now devoting his efforts only to screening and aiding in diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea.

Where Do I GetTested for Sleep Apnea Disorder?
We Do Free Risk Assessments And Screening Right Here At JCDC. Call us anytime during office hours at 573-634-2400 and set up a time to discuss your options if you have any suspicion whatsoever that you might have sleep apnea.

While most patients come from Jefferson City and nearby communities like Wardsville and Russellville MO, it is worth even much longer travel times to come visit with us and start your own sleep apnea treatment.

Will My Insurance Pay For Sleep Apnea Treatment?
Most medical insurance companies will pay for necessary sleep apnea treatment if it is documented properly. We are fortunate to have a medical insurance expert (Donna Stone Anderson) on staff at Jefferson City Dental Care and she can get us pretreatment information from almost any company.

Take Control of Snoring with Sleep Apnea Treatment in Jefferson City

If your sleep partner is experiencing snoring problems or you are finding yourself sleepy during the day or struggling with other problems that could be caused by sleep disorders, relief may be in sight! Call our family dentistry office serving the Jefferson City, Ashland and Calfornia, MO communities.