We know that having good oral health impacts overall health. This is why we take our role seriously as part of our patients’ healthcare team, all working hand in hand towards helping our patients achieve their best selves.
What is sleep apnoea?
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is a breathing disorder that occurs during sleep and leads to the narrowing or total closure of the upper airway. During sleep, the body’s muscles relax. In individuals with OSA, this causes the soft tissue at the back of the throat to sag and lessen or completely obstruct airflow.
OSA sufferers typically fall asleep and snore until the airway narrows or closes. The lack of oxygen causes them to gasp and they become semi-aroused from sleep in order to reopen the airway. With airflow secured, they return to sleep. This alternation between sleep and semi-arousal continues throughout the sleeping period. OSA sufferers may experience hundreds of these apnoea episodes per night but they are unlikely to remember them. It is often the partners of OSA sufferers that first notice the symptoms of OSA, which include:
