Do you wake up feeling tired even after a full night of sleep? Do you ever wake up with headaches or migraines? Does your bed partner accuse you of loud snoring that keeps them awake?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be suffering from a sleep disorder known as sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is most common, and it occurs when your airway is blocked during sleep, cutting off oxygen, which causes you to wake during the night.
If you suffer from sleep apnea and are interested in a treatment option that doesn’t involve a continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) machine or an oral appliance, our non-invasive laser therapy may be a consideration. We use the Fotona NightLase® laser to treat snoring and sleep apnea; here are some of the benefits of this revolutionary treatment:
We use a gentle, laser-induced tightening effect to stimulate the collagen in the oral mucosa. You won’t have to worry about this sleep apnea treatment affecting your busy life.
Laser treatment from Holliday Dental Wellness requires little to no downtime; you can resume normal activities right after the procedure with minimal side effects.
With NightLase® laser treatment, you can expect long-lasting results after three to five sessions. If you have mild sleep apnea, your symptoms may dissipate for up to a year.
Dr. Holliday uses laser dentistry in several ways at our West Seattle dental practice.
She uses the Fotona Lightwalker for tooth preparation for procedures like crowns and composite fillings. The laser allows her to comfortably remove tooth decay and prepare a tooth for its restoration while minimizing vibrations and noise that are uncomfortable for patients. The laser also preserves more of the tooth's natural structure, allowing for more conservative restorative procedures.
She uses the Fotona Nightlase to help treat snoring and sleep apnea non-invasively. Laser therapy helps to lift the palate and open the airway, which reduces snoring and improves breathing throughout the night. It can help improve sleep patterns and reduce the symptoms of sleep apnea without the need for an oral appliance or continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) therapy.
The dental laser helps us to provide non-invasive treatment procedures that are more comfortable and streamlined for our patients. Dental lasers also cauterize and sterilize the treated areas, which helps to accelerate healing time and reduce discomfort during the recovery process.
You can learn more about treatment with the dental laser by contacting our West Seattle dental office for more information.
Interrupted sleep due to sleep apnea can actually occur multiple times throughout the night, even if you don’t realize you’re waking up. It happens hundreds of times in severe cases, so you can imagine how exhausting it is for your body when it cannot receive the rejuvenating sleep it needs every night.
Some of the signs and symptoms that you might be suffering from sleep apnea are:
Your bed partner may be the one to recognize many of these signs.
Dr. Holliday completed her dental training at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. Prior to attending dental school, she earned a BS in biology and a BA in psychology from Brandeis University in Massachusetts and worked in Seattle’s biotech field. While her work in the lab eventually benefitted people’s health and well-being, she desired to have a more direct impact.
She fell in love with dentistry through volunteer work alongside many wonderful dental professionals providing care for the underserved and homeless. Seeing the patient interaction and joy those dentists took ...
Studies have shown that the majority of patients with sleep apnea have abnormal anatomical features—most notably, an underdeveloped mouth and jaw. An underdeveloped jaw and oral cavity can lead to an undersized airway, which can result in the tongue falling to the back of the throat, blocking the airway while you sleep. By reshaping and expanding the oral cavity, the airway may also expand, allowing better breathing and sleeping. We can do that with customized oral appliances that both reposition and expand.
An oral appliance can comfortably reposition the jaw during sleep to open the airway for clear breathing throughout the night. It is unobtrusive and fits snugly, much like an orthodontic retainer,
so it doesn’t interfere with comfortable sleep.
For patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea, an oral appliance can sometimes replace continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) therapy, requiring them to wear a bulky mask while sleeping. Certain appliances, such as the Vivos CARE removable oral appliances, are even cleared to treat moderate to severe sleep apnea. Dr. Holliday is a Vivos provider; she also uses multiple other appliances that are prescribed based on a person’s unique needs.
Not everyone who snores is suffering from sleep apnea. NightLase therapy is a non-invasive laser dentistry treatment that helps to increase the quality of a patient’s sleep. NightLase is done with a dental laser that Dr. Holliday uses to help reduce or eliminate snoring through a gentle, laser-induced tightening effect caused by stimulating the collagen in the oral mucosa tissue. It’s effective whether your snoring is caused by sleep apnea or not.
If you have mild sleep apnea, with NightLase treatment, you may not need an oral appliance or CPAP to experience excellent results. The treatment is completed over three to five sessions and provides long-lasting and effective results.
Holistic dental care, often referred to as non-toxic dentistry or natural dentistry, considers the intricate connection between what happens in your mouth and what happens in your body. Recently, dentistry has seen a revolution in technology that perfectly aligns with the principles of holistic dental care: laser dentistry.
Dental lasers have ...
A good night’s sleep is crucial to a high quality of life. Unfortunately, many are forced to deal with sleep disorders that deprive them of the deep, regenerative sleep that supports physical and mental health. What’s worse is that these nights of insufficient, interrupted rest can actually create a sleep ...
A good night’s sleep is one of life’s underrated luxuries. As it happens, quality sleep is also a key contributor to quality of life. Unfortunately, sleep disorders like sleep apnea deprive many of the regenerative rest needed to support physical and mental health and leave many people more fatigued than ...
If you or your loved one snores at night, or you suspect they may be suffering from sleep issues, contact Holliday Dental Wellness to take the first steps towards learning more about solutions for sleep apnea in West Seattle.
We can help you with a home sleep study to diagnose sleep apnea, and we have solutions for disordered sleeping whether or not you have sleep apnea.
Dr. Holliday uses dental lasers to make treatment efficient, effective, safe, and comfortable for our patients. She uses the Fotona Lightwalker for tooth preparation for procedures like dental crowns and composite fillings. The laser allows her to comfortably remove tooth decay and prepare a tooth for its restoration while minimizing vibrations and noise that are uncomfortable for patients. The laser also preserves more of the tooth's natural structure, allowing for more conservative restorative procedures.
She uses the Fotona Nightlase® to help treat snoring and sleep apnea non-invasively. Laser therapy helps to lift the palate and open the airway, which reduces snoring and improves breathing throughout the night. It can help improve sleep patterns and reduce the symptoms of sleep apnea without the need for an oral appliance or continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) therapy.