Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a condition in which breathing stops repeatedly during sleep. Sleep apnea often goes undetected for a long time.

The classifying symptoms of sleep apnea are regular pauses in breathing during the sleep phase. The condition exists as soon as there are more than 5 pauses in breathing of at least 10 seconds duration per hour. However, many patients have significantly more respiratory arrests, which last an average of 20–30 seconds.

Sleep apnea can go hand in hand with snoring, but it doesn’t have to. Since the nocturnal recovery phase is disturbed, severe daytime fatigue often occurs. Other possible symptoms: microsleep episodes (during the day), memory impairment, reduction of libido and virility, and morning headaches and/or a dry mouth.

A distinction is made between obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by relaxation of the muscles and soft tissues of the upper airways. In the case of central sleep apnea, which is much less common, the brain does not send sufficient signals to the respiratory muscles. Ultimately, both forms cause the same symptoms.

Sleep apnea can cause a noticeable drop in your ability to perform. There is also a higher risk of accidents. Blood pressure can also rise. In many patients, psychological well-being also suffers.

Sleep apnea can vary in severity. A distinction is made between mild, moderate and severe sleep apnea.

The treatment of sleep apnea depends on the severity and the individual case. Possible options include:

• Dieting for those who are overweight

• Avoiding alcohol, smoking and sleeping pills

• Avoiding lying on your back while sleeping

• Treatment with special breathing masks

• Operative procedure

Therapy with a special breathing mask is most often recommended. However, this method is very time-consuming, and many patients have problems with handling the mask.

In mild and moderate cases of sleep apnea, excellent results can be achieved with SomnoDent mouth guards (success rate > 95%). This applies to both obstructive and central sleep apnea. Their great advantage is that they can be integrated very easily, comfortably and hardly noticeably into everyday sleep: This innovative mouthguard is individually manufactured for you and simply worn at night.

Our dental practices in Landstuhl and Kaiserslautern specialize in treatment with SomnoDent mouth guards. We would be happy to advise you in detail on the subject.