Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. These interruptions can happen dozens or even hundreds of times per night, and they prevent the body from getting the deep, restorative sleep it needs. Left untreated, sleep apnea is associated with a significantly elevated risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and other serious health conditions.
The most common type — obstructive sleep apnea — occurs when the muscles in the throat relax during sleep, causing the airway to narrow or collapse. Snoring is one of the most recognizable symptoms, though not everyone who snores has sleep apnea. Other common signs include waking frequently during the night, gasping for air during sleep, morning headaches, excessive daytime sleepiness, and difficulty concentrating.
The Role of Dentistry in Sleep Apnea Treatment
Many people are familiar with CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) therapy — the machine that delivers pressurized air through a mask to keep the airway open during sleep. While CPAP is highly effective, many patients struggle with compliance because the mask is uncomfortable, confining, or disruptive to sleep.
This is where dental treatment can play an important role. Oral appliance therapy is an FDA-approved treatment option for mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea and for patients with severe sleep apnea who cannot tolerate CPAP. An oral appliance is a custom-fitted device worn in the mouth during sleep that repositions the jaw and tongue to keep the airway open.
Oral appliances are small, comfortable, and easy to travel with — many patients find them far more manageable than a CPAP machine. They require no electricity, produce no noise, and allow you to sleep in any position.
What to Expect
If you’re interested in oral appliance therapy, the process begins with a consultation to discuss your symptoms and sleep history. A formal diagnosis of sleep apnea requires a sleep study — typically ordered by your primary care physician or a sleep specialist — and we work collaboratively with your medical team to ensure appropriate treatment.
Once a diagnosis is confirmed and oral appliance therapy is determined to be appropriate for you, we take impressions or digital scans of your teeth to fabricate a custom appliance. After the appliance is delivered, we schedule follow-up visits to ensure it fits properly, make any necessary adjustments, and confirm that it is achieving the desired results.
Follow-up sleep testing is often recommended to verify the effectiveness of the appliance.
Better Sleep, Better Health
Sleep apnea is a medical condition that deserves serious attention, and treatment can make a profound difference in your quality of life and long-term health. If you or a loved one snores loudly, wakes frequently during the night, or feels exhausted despite a full night’s sleep, we encourage you to talk to your doctor and ask about your treatment options — including oral appliance therapy. We’d be happy to discuss whether this is a path that makes sense for you.