You may not have noticed, but your partner or someone who sleeps close to you may have been bothered by the way your breathing stops or becomes very shallow at some point while you are sleeping. When your breathing usually pauses for about 10 to 20 seconds every night as you sleep, you may have a sleep condition called sleep apnea.

Here at Welch Dental Group, we provide patients in Katy, Texas with sleep apnea treatments. But first, how can you identify if you are currently experiencing sleep apnea?

It can be difficult to tell if you have sleep apnea since most of its signs and symptoms usually occur when you are asleep. However, you can always ask a bed partner to observe you while you are sleeping. Some major signs of sleep apnea include:

• Pauses in breathing while you snore
• Choking or gasping comes after these pauses
• Constantly fighting sleepiness anytime during the day
• Constantly finding yourself easily falling asleep during the day especially when you are not active

There are other sleep apnea signs and symptoms that you can look out for, including:

• Need for frequent naps
• Difficulty concentrating or learning
• Having personality changes or mood swings frequently
• Waking up frequently during the night to urinate
• Sore throat or dry mouth upon waking up

In medicine, the treatment for sleep apnea includes wearing a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure mask, better known as a CPAP. In dentistry, we also have the ability to fabricate a mandibular advancement device, such as the Somnodent, which is a mouthpiece which helps to open your airway and tends to be less intrusive.

Although the first step is to have a sleep study performed to determine if you have sleep apnea and if so, it’s severity – sleep apnea can be treated in different ways. If you are currently experiencing this problem, discuss it with us at Welch Dental Group. Give us a call at 281-395-2112 and get expert advice from our doctors. You can also fill out this online contact form to request an appointment.