Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA or sleep apnea) often goes unnoticed because the early symptoms may be surprisingly subtle. However, its effects on your health and well-being are hard to ignore.
At Golden Dental Solutions in Golden, CO, our dental care team specializes in preventive and restorative treatments that support lifelong health. As experts in oral anatomy, we’re uniquely qualified to create custom sleep apnea solutions tailored to your needs. Identifying these OSA signs early can help you get effective treatment and improve your whole-person health. Here are six symptoms that people often miss.
Unexpected Symptoms of Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea symptoms aren’t always obvious. You might have sleep apnea if you notice:
- Morning Headaches: Poor oxygen levels during sleep can lead to tension headaches when you wake up.
- Daytime Fatigue: If you awaken feeling exhausted during the day, it could be because sleep apnea disrupts your breathing all night.
- Dry Mouth: Sleep apnea can cause mouth breathing, leading to dryness.
- Forgetfulness: Poor sleep quality can directly affect memory and focus. Some studies show that OSA and Alzheimer’s disease cause the same type of damage to the brain.
- Mood Changes: When you’re not getting enough quality sleep, you could experience irritability and mental health challenges. People with sleep apnea are more likely to experience clinical depression.
- Snoring: Sometimes snoring is just snoring, but it’s a sign of sleep apnea in other cases. Loud, persistent snoring that wakes your partner or others in your household strongly indicates sleep apnea. The American Medical Association explains that about 50% of people with loud snoring have OSA.
If you notice these symptoms, it’s time to seek an evaluation with our experienced sleep apnea specialists.
How Dentists Treat Sleep Apnea
As dentists, we’re highly trained in oral health and mouth and jaw anatomy, giving us a unique understanding of sleep apnea and what’s involved in treating it successfully.
At Golden Dental Solutions, our team recommends lifestyle changes that may help for early-stage sleep apnea. We also offer customized solutions such as oral appliances for mild to moderate OSA. Oral appliances work by repositioning your jaw to help keep your airway open overnight. We create custom oral appliances, ensuring they’re comfortable and easy to wear.
An oral appliance could be ideal if you’re looking for an alternative to wearing a big, bulky CPAP mask overnight. We also offer myofunctional therapy, in which our caring myofunctional therapist teaches you special exercises that train your mouth, face, and tongue muscles. This therapy can help patients with sleep apnea and other conditions such as upper airway resistance syndrome upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS).
Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Golden, CO
Don’t ignore the signs of obstructive sleep apnea. Call Golden Dental Solutions at 303-277-9600 to schedule a consultation with our dental team in Golden, CO, today.
