A DENTIST from Allenheads has sought to raise awareness of the dangerous sleep condition which brought misery to his life.

Father-of-two Rob Wain suffered for several years with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea without even realising it.

The debilitating condition caused Rob’s throat muscles to intermittently relax during sleep.

This blocked his airway and caused his breathing to stop and start during sleep.

After he became aware of the problem in 2013, Rob carried out extensive research into the condition.

He was fitted with a mandibular advancement splint (MAS), which connected his upper and lower jaws.

The device pulled the lower jaw forward, which opened his airway and increased airflow.

Rob, a clinical director of the Dovetail Bespoke Dental Solutions clinic in Newcastle, said the splint had made an immeasurable improvement to his quality of life.

He explained: “Sleep apnoea is a slow, insidious, creeping condition that caused me real misery.

“You don’t consciously wake up, but you do keep having disturbed sleep where you stop breathing momentarily, while suddenly taking a deep gasp of breath.

“Ultimately, what you’re left with is sleep that’s far from soothing. You might not be aware of it, but it gradually erodes the quality of your life.”

Rob has started offering the splints to other sufferers of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea as part of his dental work.

He added: “If it’s just happening to you on a slow, chronic, low level, you might assume you’re getting your seven or eight hours a night, and you struggle on.

“You don’t realise why you feel grumpy, angry and tired when you’re driving and fall asleep when you get home.

“It’s really, really debilitating and, in my view, it’s vital that the public are better educated about the potential symptoms.”