Blog Layout

What are the Different Types of Sleep Apnea?

Warrenton Dental Center • November 28, 2017

From snoring to pauses in breathing, sleep apnea should not be taken lightly—in fact, you should receive proper treatment immediately. As with other diseases and conditions, there are different types of sleep apnea you might be suffering from. For this reason, it is important to understand each type in order to better understand your specific condition for proper diagnosis.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) : Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type of sleep apnea. It occurs when the soft tissue in the back of the throat relaxes during sleep and blocks the airway. This often causes you to snore loudly—we know how disruptive that can be!

Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) : Central sleep apnea is a much less common type of sleep apnea that involves the central nervous system. It occurs when the brain fails to signal the muscles that control breathing. If you suffer from central sleep apnea it is likely that you seldom snore.

Complex Sleep Apnea : Complex sleep apnea is a combination of obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea. It is a form of sleep apnea in which central apneas persist or emerge during attempts to treat obstructive events with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or bi-level device.

What are the Stages of Sleep Apnea?

In addition to the types of sleep apnea, there are also three stages that occur as well:

  • Mild is the first stage in which patients stop breathing 5-15 times per hour.
  • Moderate involves a stoppage of breathing 16-30 times per hour.
  • Severe, which means patients’ breathing stops more than 30 times per hour.

Contact our Warrenton dentist, Dr. Bonnie Foster, to gain a better understanding of your specific sleep apnea type and how treatment can help to improve your symptoms.

Untreated sleep apnea leads to depression and worsening of ADHD

By cpcvirginia • December 6, 2017
You may think that snoring or sleep apnea should not be at the top of your treatment list. However, it is important to make the treatment of your sleep apnea a top priority. Why? Let’s take a look at 5 negative effects that sleep apnea can have on your oral and overall health when treatment […]

Who is at risk for TMD?

By Warrenton Dental Center • December 6, 2017
Being at risk for temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) increases your likelihood of developing this condition. It is possible to develop TMD with or without the risk factors, but if you do have a number of those listed, it is important to ask your dentist what you might be able to do to reduce your risk. […]

Migraines Might be linked to TMD and Arthritis

By cpcvirginia • November 27, 2017
If you are experiencing an extremely painful headache, it might be a migraine. However, while migraines might be annoying and difficult to deal with, they don’t typically cause any serious complications. With a new study, migraines were determined to be an early sign of arthritis in the jaw. What is the Connection? Temporomandibular joint disorder […]

Is Your TMD Caused by Stress?

By Warrenton Dental Center • November 16, 2017
Maybe you’ve been trying to find the root cause for your TMD but are coming up short. For many, stress is the culprit. It affects almost everyone at some point in their lives. In fact, about 77 percent of people in the United States have reported that they experienced physical symptoms due to stress. Let’s […]

Make lifestyle changes to improve sleep apnea symptoms

By cpcvirginia • November 15, 2017
In addition to sleep apnea treatments it is also important to make lifestyle changes. Through these changes, you can improve your sleep and eliminate your symptoms of sleep apnea—it’s a win/win for your health and your sleep! Here are three lifestyle changes you should start making immediately. Quit Smoking. We have all been told that […]

TMD Could be Interrupting Your Sleep

By cpcvirginia • November 10, 2017
It has also been shown that those who suffer from sleep disorders might also be suffering from a problem directly related to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders (TMD). A disorder in the TMJ can cause pain and discomfort in other parts of the body and symptoms, such as sleep apnea, teeth grinding and tension headaches or […]

A Lesson in Sleep Apnea

By Warrenton Dental Center • November 10, 2017
Sleep apnea has been observed since ancient times and, while a treatment or cause was not clear, people were still aware of this condition. In the late 19th century, the term “Pickwickian syndrome” was created to describe symptoms of sleep apnea. Unfortunately, the research mainly concentrated on the patient’s obesity rather than the disordered breathing […]

Think Twice Before Chewing Gum

By cpcvirginia • September 6, 2017
If you chew gum and suffer from headaches or jaw pain, you might want to think twice before you pick up that new pack of gum. A person suffering from temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) might find it painful to chew gum while others will gladly chew it on a daily basis. In a study of […]

Sleep Apnea Sufferers need to be Aware of More Health Concerns

By cpcvirginia • September 1, 2017
We all know sleep is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, sleep conditions, such as sleep apnea, can hinder a person’s ability to sleep and their quality of sleep. When this occurs, other severe health conditions can arise. We’ve discussed a few before, but let’s take a look at some other conditions: High Blood […]

Your Sleep Position Can Make All the Difference

By Warrenton Dental Center • September 1, 2017
By understanding different sleep positions, you can better understand how to improve your sleep patterns because your position when you sleep directly affects your quality of sleep. Let’s take a look at the best and worst positions for sleeping—you may second-guess how you sleep. Let’s start with the worst positions to avoid before we take […]
More Posts
Share by: