You Deserve Peaceful Sleep

Have you ever woken up feeling like you haven’t slept at all, even though you were in bed all night? Sleep apnea might be the culprit. It’s a condition that can disrupt your sleep and leave you feeling tired, irritable, and unfocused. It can also lead to more serious health problems, like high blood pressure and heart issues. Dr. Slaughter can help with sleep apnea treatment to help you get the rest you deserve.

How Can I Tell If I Have Sleep Apnea?

Many of our patients start to worry about sleep apnea when they learn that they’re snoring excessively during the night. With that said, it’s not the only symptom you can look out for, and not everyone who snores suffers from sleep apnea. Other warning signs that could be a sign are:

  • Frequent fatigue, even when you managed a full night’s rest
  • Trouble with focus and short-term memory
  • Changes in your mood, including increased irritability
  • Difficulty managing existing physical or mental health conditions
  • New or worsening concerns about hypertension (high blood pressure)
  • Frequent headaches or discomfort from a sore throat, particularly in the mornings

Our Different Treatment Options

Letting sleep apnea go untreated means keeping yourself vulnerable to a condition that will negatively impact your physical and emotional well-being. Some of our patients who had sleep apnea can enjoy relief by making a few lifestyle changes. Losing weight, cutting alcohol, making other diet changes, and making a change in your sleep posture may be able to help you. For other patients, treatment may come in the form of a CPAP machine or the use of an oral appliance. The last option is to look into oral surgery, which can correct physical issues that make you vulnerable to this condition.

Simple lifestyle changes can usually make a big difference to your sleep apnea condition. These changes may include:

person suffering from sleep apnea

Lifestyle Changes

  • Weight loss, as excess weight, particularly around your neck, can contribute to sleep apnea.
  • Alcohol reduction, since consumption can relax the throat muscles and worsen your sleep apnea symptoms.
  • Dietary changes should be made to avoid certain foods and beverages that can trigger or exacerbate sleep apnea.
  • Adjusting your sleep position helps to keep your airway open.

Medical Interventions

While lifestyle changes can be effective for some, others may need more of a medical intervention. We offer Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machines to help deliver pressurized air to our patients suffering from sleep apnea with a mask that is worn during sleep. We also offer other oral appliances that are custom-fitted to reposition your jaw and tongue to prevent airway collapse. Dr. Slaughter can help assess you severity of sleep apnea to determine the most appropriate treatment plan for your needs.

Oral Surgery

Using a CPAP machine or oral appliance permanently is not ideal for everyone. But unfortunately, not all our patients suffering from sleep apnea can manage without assistance. If you want to avoid long-term support from a custom guard or CPAP machine, we offer surgical procedures that can help. Maxillomandibular advancement surgery, for example, can reposition the bones of your upper and lower jaw to address airway obstructions. Mandibular osteotomy, or jaw surgery, is another option that can stop breathing disruptions from occurring. These procedures, as well as corrective treatment, can give you long-term relief without asking you to commit to the use of an appliance.

Talk To Dr. Slaughter About Your Treatment

Untreated problems with sleep apnea threaten your quality of life and overall health. To enjoy permanent relief without the use of an appliance, you can explore whether oral or maxillofacial surgery might be right for your condition. For more information on the services that we can recommend based on your needs, get in touch with our team to make an appointment.