Three Roles Dentists Have To Play In The Treatment Of Sleep Apnea
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Sleep apnea is a disruptive health issue that affects an individual's sleeping and breathing pattern. In fact, according to a publication released by the journal of hypertension in 2018, this health challenge can also lead to high blood pressure. This then begs the question, how can it be treated, and how does the dentist come into play in this condition.
According to sleep apnea courses for dentists, Sleep apnea has two main types; Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) and central sleep apnea. But, the most common of the two is the OSA; therefore, the focus of this article will be how dentists respond to this type of Apnea. Ready to learn? Let's go.
- Evaluation of the situation
Most people's first thought about who should treat a sleep-related case like sleep apnea is a sleep doctor. But, the mechanism of the way sleep apnea affects its host is related to what the dentist can address. There are even Sleep Apnea Courses for Dentists that help them address the issue. OSA occurs when the soft tissue in the airways of the lungs collapses. When that happens, oxygen will not pass into the lungs, thus stopping the person from breathing.
If a patient observes that pattern of breathing, the first response should be to contact a dentist. The dentist will evaluate the situation by checking the teeth, mouth, and temporomandibular joints of the patients to see what the patient needs. Also, because most dental sleep apnea seminars point out that all patients are treated differently, these evaluations cannot be bypassed.
- Treatment
After carefully evaluating the patient, the next significant duty of the dentist is to recommend an appliance to wear orally. The dentist will only give out this oral appliance if they believe it will aid the patient sleep. So, they create a model according to the patient's teeth and make an appliance that could be a mandibular advancement device. Because the device must be fit to avoid jaw damage, all patients are advised to visit the dentist for evaluation before moving on to treatment. The patient then wears this model device to sleep to help in the apnea treatment.
- Continuous monitoring
The treatment continues, but this time, the dentist just does regular checks on the patient to determine the effectiveness of the administered appliance. This device doesn't guarantee the automatic correction of sleeping patterns, but it can help in the long run. So, the dentist patiently checks the progress and might also make some necessary changes to the appliance or new development from dental Sleep Apnea Seminars.
Conclusion
Here you go- the three major roles every dentist plays in helping sleep apnea patients overcome the health challenge. Remember to visit a dentist if you are facing these challenges as they are well vast in this area.
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