Snoring and Sleep Apnea and TMJ Clinic Glastonbury, CT are serious concerns that impact your quality of life. Left untreated, these conditions can cause high blood pressure and diabetes as well as contribute to heart disease.Research suggests that there may be a link between sleep apnea and cancer. Discovering this relationship could lead to more efficient and comprehensive treatment approaches for both.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition where something blocks your airway while you’re sleeping. This obstructs your breathing and causes the oxygen levels in your blood to drop. To compensate, your brain triggers a survival reflex that makes you wake up briefly. This disruption in your sleep pattern makes it hard to get good quality rest, which can lead to a variety of symptoms and complications.
Over time, untreated obstructive sleep apnea can contribute to heart-related problems and even death. It can also increase your risk of stroke and depression. In addition, the extreme daytime sleepiness caused by obstructive sleep apnea makes it dangerous for you to drive or operate machinery. This can lead to traffic accidents or serious workplace injuries. It can also lead to poor relationships and a lower quality of life. Sleep apnea is linked to high blood pressure, which can contribute to stroke, heart disease and diabetes. It can also cause depression and anxiety.
TMJ Disorders
TMJ disorders are a group of conditions that affect your temporomandibular joints (TMJs). These two small joints, located in front of each ear, connect your lower jaw bone (mandible) to the skull on each side. The TMJs work together with jaw muscles to allow you to open and close your mouth, chew, speak, yawn and swallow.
TMD can cause pain and problems in your jaw, head, neck and shoulders. It can also cause problems in parts of your body that don’t seem to be related to the TMJs, such as your eyes, ears, chest and lungs.
TMD symptoms can be caused by stress, a traumatic injury to the jaw or head, or habits like biting nails or chewing gum and hard foods. Talk therapy and relaxation techniques can help reduce stress and tension to improve TMD symptoms.
Symptoms
Symptoms of sleep apnea include snoring, feeling tired all the time, and waking up with a headache or sore throat. Some people have obstructive sleep apnea, while others suffer from less severe obstructions called Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS).
TMJ disorders affect the chewing muscles and joints that connect the lower jaw to the skull. These symptoms can include clicking, popping, or crackling in the jaw; pain when chewing or yawning; trouble opening or closing the mouth; a limited range of motion; a locked jaw; and pain that feels like it’s behind the eyes or in the temples.
Chronic pain from TMD can also cause ringing in the ears and dizziness. Those who have to endure this pain often experience emotional distress and struggle to maintain relationships with family and friends. Untreated TMD can lead to heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and depression. It can also increase the risk of motor vehicle accidents.
Treatment
Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition that causes repeated interruptions in breathing and oxygen supply during sleep. Untreated, it can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, depression, and diabetes. It also increases the risk of motor vehicle accidents and may have a negative impact on your interpersonal relationships.
Treatment options include mouthguards, a CPAP machine, weight loss, and surgery. Our oral surgeons will help you find the solution that works best for your condition.
Patients with obstructive sleep apnea are likely to snore loudly, wake up feeling tired all the time, or have headaches and sore throats. They also have a higher risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, depression, and problems with their memory and concentration. Obstructive sleep apnea can be caused by excessive weight, being overweight, smoking, drinking alcohol, and having a large neck, as well as nasal congestion caused by enlarged adenoids or tonsils. Central sleep apnea is less common and happens when the brain does not send proper breathing signals to the body.