Everyone has the occasional bad night of sleep. However, for millions of Americans, every night is a bad night of sleep. No matter what you do, you wake up morning after morning feeling completely exhausted, like you never went to sleep in the first place. This is a condition known as sleep apnea. With diagnosis and proper treatment, your sleep quality, and quality of life can be restored.

If sleep apnea is left untreated, it prevents you from getting enough deep, restorative sleep. Without enough deep sleep you may be sleepy, lack mental sharpness and be less productive.

Long term health effects can be serious, including:

Diagnosing sleep apnea is typically done through a sleep study, which is performed in a sleep clinic. During your sleep study, which is called a polysomnogram, you are attached to machines that monitor and record different information while you sleep. Your heart rate, breathing, brain activities, blood oxygen levels, and the movements of your arms and legs are all monitored. After your sleep study is complete, the next day, the recorded information is read by a sleep specialist, who can interpret the results and diagnose sleep apnea or other sleep-related issues and prescribe you with appropriate treatment.

There are a number of different treatments that may be recommended for sleep apnea.

Accurate diagnosis is necessary to enable effective treatment for sleep disorders. At The Mugford Center, our doctors may feel that a sleep study is a valuable diagnostic tool. The sleep study provides valuable insight into the causes of a person’s symptoms including which, if any, sleep disorder is present. Sleep studies are also used in people diagnosed with sleep disorders to monitor their response to treatment.

The Doctors would request a polysomnography, where you would be assessed overnight with painless sensors that record information. Our team would contact you after the sleep study to discuss the findings and whether your results indicate that you have a sleep disorder.

Depending on your situation, and the severity of your sleep apnea, it may be possible to treat sleep apnea with a home remedy. For some, losing weight is all that is needed to eliminate sleep apnea. Exercise, particularly yoga, can help to improve blood oxygen levels. For congestion-related sleep apnea, a humidifier in your bedroom may help. Some individuals may be able to eliminate sleep apnea simply by quitting tobacco products or drinking alcohol.

There are a few things that you can do to help alleviate the symptoms of sleep apnea until the condition is treated.

An oral appliance can often be an effective way to treat sleep apnea and more comfortable than a CPAP device. Most patients simply can’t stand the uncomfortable equipment and loud noises that comes along with the CPAP, resulting in non-compliance and worsening symptoms. At The Mugford Center, we offer a better solution: oral appliance therapy called the Metz appliance. These custom-made, safe, FDA-approved devices are designed to reposition the jaw and/or tongue just enough to prevent dangerous airway blockage, resulting in easy, uninterrupted breathing throughout the night. They’re unobtrusive, easy to wear, and even convenient to travel with!

Oral appliance therapy utilizes the same basic principle as CPR: if the airway is blocked, a simple way to clear it is to shift the jaw forward. This is actually what our oral appliances do. This small movement prevents the soft tissues in the mouth and throat from relaxing into the airway, allowing a patient to breathe normally while they sleep. Other types of oral appliances also keep the tongue in a neutral position as well.

When you suffer from temporomandibular joint problems, you may be in a great deal of pain. TMJ is a condition that deteriorates the joints that control your mouth. According to the American Dental Association, this often occurs after years of teeth grinding and clenching, bite problems, jaw injuries, or arthritis. Classic symptoms include headaches, neck pain, and clicking sounds when you chew. At The Mugford Center, our doctors may use various treatment plans for TMJ cases.

Using advanced leading-edge technology, our doctors can see your facial anatomy in three dimensions and diagnose your unique situation.

Our iCat Cone Beam CAT Scan is a state-of-the-art piece of dental technology that helps us access TMJ and upper airway issues. The scan helps us view nasal septum, nasal airway, sinuses, oral airway, cervical spine position, and TMJ position. With this information, we’re able to access and understand the anatomical relationships in the neck and head area resulting in an accurate and timely diagnosis to use in planning your treatment.

Occlusal (Bite) Adjustment is a procedure in which our doctors remove interferences from your teeth, thus treating misaligned teeth, a bad bite, crooked teeth, malocclusion, and other dental problems. You may need bite adjustment if your teeth don’t close properly because it can lead to several other complications, such as TMD or bruxism.

At The Mugford Center, we look for signs of misaligned teeth and crooked teeth during regular dental checkups. If you have misaligned teeth, our doctors will recommend the ideal occlusal adjustment procedure for your needs.

If TMJ is caused by grinding, you may be fit with a mouth guard that is to be worn overnight. The mouth guard helps protect your teeth from being worn down or chipped. Prevention is very important. In addition, reducing grinding forces is especially important for those with periodontal (gum) disease or those with dental implants.