Sleep Apnea Health Risks

Untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can lead to serious health risks. Proper breathing, blood oxygenation, and restful sleep are all crucial elements to maintaining good physical and mental health. Sleep apnea can profoundly affect multiple systems of the body simultaneously. Whether through hormonal imbalance or oxygen deprivation, the circulatory, neurological, pulmonary, metabolic, and immune systems can all be affected by OSA to varying degrees.

When an individual is diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, there is medical evidence to prove that during sleep, function of the airways is impeded and airflow is consistently restricted or blocked. As a result, OSA sufferers often snore and/or experience long breathing pauses while sleeping, awakening several times throughout the night due to dangerously prolonged lack of oxygen. The oxygen deprivation and excessive strain that OSA places on the body can cause or worsen critical health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain. In some cases, OSA can lead to sudden cardiac death.

Once diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, seeking and following through with treatment is vital to improving and maintaining your overall health. At Designer Smiles we offer effective treatment for OSA with a variety of mandibular advancement devices. In a short time, use of the appropriate device can restructure the airways and lead to improvements in nighttime breathing and reduced health risks for many of our patients.