Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes a person to periodically stop breathing throughout the night. This affects around 18-20 million adults in the U.S., and have negative effects on your health if untreated. Besides feeling tired from getting an unrestful night of sleep, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure, heart arrhythmias, heart disease, heart attack, stroke, and increased risk of diabetes.
Dental appliances for sleep apnea
It’s important to get professional treatment for sleep apnea before the condition causes serious health problems. By scheduling an appointment with the dentists at Newbury Dental Group, we can help you relieve your sleep apnea symptoms, leaving you feeling more rested and healthier in general.
There are several different oral devices that can be custom fitted to suit your needs. While over-the-counter options are available, they will not be as effective and could even complicate your sleep apnea. Even if your snoring goes away while using these devices, it does not mean that the disorder has been treated.
Mandibular (lower jaw) advancing devices and tongue retaining devices are two common tools used for treating sleep apnea. Their main function is to hold the airway open by moving the lower jaw forward, or hold the tongue in a way that prevents it from moving backwards during sleep (causing an airway obstruction).
Benefits of sleep apnea dentistry
The benefits of sleep apnea dentistry includes a lower cost of treating sleep apnea. Many patients with sleep apnea use CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) devices to assist them during sleep, but they can be expensive to users. Patients often come to us to use in conjunction with or as an alternative to CPAP therapy. Sleep apnea dental appliances are also small, making them easy to travel with. Dental devices can be very effective in treating mild to moderate sleep apnea, resolving symptoms like snoring and teeth grinding.
Getting dental devices
You will have to have your dentist make a custom fitted oral device to suit your particular needs. Over-the-counter options are available, but not recommended. Over-the-counter devices may be appealing because of their reduced prices, but can actually complicate sleep apnea. Many patients who order oral devices without consulting with a dentist, find that their snoring symptoms went away, but were unaware that it was not preventing apnea events leading to complications down the road as only the snoring symptom was prevented but the disorder itself was not.
Schedule a Consultation
Contact Newbury Dental Group at 805-410-1532 to set up a sleep apnea dentistry appointment. We are happy to help you get fitted for a dental device that can help treat many of the symptoms associated with sleep apnea, including snoring and teeth grinding. At Newbury Dental Group, our goal is to provide dental care that improves your overall health and confidence.