Feeling refreshed? A good night’s sleep is one of those things that makes the day so much better.

A good night’s sleep is something that many people want, but rarely achieve, and poor sleep impacts every part of our lives. Did you know that up to 90% of sleep apnoea sufferers are unaware that they have a problem?

  • Maybe a partner snores so loudly that you wish you were sleeping alone.
  • Maybe you can only ever achieve sleep in bursts of a few hours before you wake up and wonder why you are awake.
  • Maybe you wake up and feel as though you need to visit the bathroom again – even though you don’t need to go that often during the day.

We can help.

At Capricornia Dental Centre, we take a very personalised approach to constructing and fitting you with a physiologically based appliance to treat sleep apnoea and sleep disorders related to difficulty in breathing.

Many over the counter and cheaper appliances use an arbitrary sizing – a fast ‘fix’ and a cheaper product which is rarely effective for treating the problem. Particularly for people who are intolerant of the traditional CPAP device, our appliance is created uniquely for your physiology, and is therefore comfortable to wear and retain while you’re sleeping.

Our professional team at Capricornia Dental Centre want to ensure you achieve an easy and comfortable night’s sleep, allowing your body to relax and recover from the day.

Sleep disordered breathing, which includes sleep apnoea and UARS (Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome, is more common than diabetes and asthma and may be the most under diagnosed and poorly managed medical condition there is. Yet only 1 in 100 people with sleep apnoea is being helped on a nightly basis. That’s not good enough.

Sleep apnoea doesn’t simply mean you’re tired and you snore. It happens when a person’s airway closes during sleep. It can contribute to many chronic conditions, including:

  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Heart disease
  • Diabetes
  • Headaches
  • Depression
  • Impotence
  • Tiredness and sleepiness
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Weight gain/difficulty losing weight

As you can imagine, not being able to breathe is extremely stressful to the body. Blood pressure and heart rate see-saw throughout the night. The brain gets roused out of the deeper, restorative sleep, and sleep turns into a battle of survival rather than rest and recovery.

This can markedly affect how you feel during your waking hours. Sleep should be a time for calming the heart and blood vessels, but untreated sleep apnoea causes cardiovascular stress all night. It’s essential to rule out sleep apnoea if you snore, experience unrefreshing sleep or have medical problems related to sleep apnoea.

Research

The recent body of research on sleep disordered breathing is constantly growing. Experts and eminent researchers such as Dr John Remmers, Dr Jim Papadopolos and Dr David Gozal have increased public awareness of a disorder that is no longer something to joke about.

How do I know?

Unless you have had a recent sleep study, you really can’t know if you have a problem with sleep-disordered breathing. A questionnaire like the one below may give you a hint of a problem, but the only way to know for sure is to have a sleep study done.

Download the Epworth Sleepiness Scale Questionnaire

We are happy to help facilitate a sleep study for you. For most adults, a sleep study can be done in your own bed and home, using portable equipment. The recorded data is sent to your GP or sleep physician for an initial assessment and diagnosis.