The importance of treating sleep apnoea and how your Sunbury dental office can help

Many people who are diagnosed with sleep apnoea opt against treatment, because they find CPAP intolerable. However, there are alternatives, including comfortable and convenient oral appliance therapy, available from Smile in Style Dental offices in Sunbury and Moonee Ponds.

Solution for sleep apnoea from dentist in Sunbury

What sleep apnoea does to your body

Snoring alone is harmless except for disturbing the person’s sleep partner. The sound indicates that air is moving through the airway. However, in many cases loud snoring follows a period of no breathing, which is called an apnoeic event.

  • As the person reaches deep stages of sleep, muscles relax. In a healthy person, breathing continues as normal. In an apnoea patient, the airway collapses.
  • Breathing stops, causing blood oxygen levels to drop.
  • In response to physical stress, the brain releases adrenaline, causing heart rate and blood pressure to rise.
  • The person begins to wake. As deep sleep evolves to lighter stages of sleep, the muscles become firmer.
  • The airway begins to recover, and the person gasps for air. The passage of air through a partially restricted passage creates vibration, and the sound we call snoring.
  • The person may not completely wake up. Once breathing resumes, he or she begins sinking back into deeper sleep.
  • Muscles relax again, and the cycle repeats.

This can happen many times every hour, preventing the person from reaching the deepest stage of sleep. The immediate effects include fatigue, difficulty focusing, and daytime sleepiness. In the long term, untreated apnoea can increase your risk of stroke, heart attack, and other serious health conditions.

How oral appliances help

Unlike CPAP, dental treatment does not involve any machines or cumbersome masks. A small, custom made oral appliance is designed to comfortably hold the airway open. Book online at www.smileinstyle.com.au or call us at 03 8400 4104 (Moonee Ponds) or 03 8001 6021 (Sunbury) and schedule a consultation.
 
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Smile In Style Dental office near Moonee Ponds and Sunbury

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Throughout our site, you will find valuable information about our services that will help you get to know us better. It is our mission to create beautiful white healthy smiles using the latest technologies. Our experienced Dentists and staff aim for lifelong relationships with our patients, providing relevant dental education and continual care throughout life. Here, you can learn more about the various dental conditions that may develop and the ways in which we treat them.
Some of the services you can expect to find at Smile in Style include: Our goal is to work together with you to achieve your healthiest, most attractive smile, whilst ensuring your comfort and satisfaction.

Safe Amalgam Removal Protocol

  • Chlorella drink prior is given prior to treatment and a mouth rinse post-treatment. Chlorella can help bind and prevent mercury absorption.
  • Physical protective barriers - Masks, protective coverings, eyewear, in-mouth non-latex dental dams, and other steps are taken to prevent physical contact with mercury for the patient and staff.
  • Oral evacuation - Generous amounts of water are used to continuously rinse particulate matter from the mouth while suctioning it away. Combined with protective dental dams, this prevents patients from swallowing dental amalgam particles during treatment. Additionally, the rinsing helps lower the temperature of the filling, reducing the amount of mercury vapour released.
  • External air - A continuous supply of non-contaminated air or oxygen is delivered via a mask or similar apparatus, preventing inhalation of mercury vapour or particles.
  • "Chunk it out" method - Rather than using a drill to grind the filling down, it is carefully removed in the largest possible pieces, minimising friction, vaporisation.
  • High Volume Evacuation Suction is used by the dental assistant to remove amalgam particles in the mouth.
  • High Volume Air suction and Air Purifiers are used in the clinical room that is able to remove mercury vapour from the room.
  • Amalgam separator use - This device collects mercury-contaminated waste before it can enter the sewage system, allowing us to dispose of it safely.