Sleep Apnea Oral Appliance
An oral appliance is a small acrylic device that fits over your upper and lower teeth (similar to an orthodontic retainer or mouth guard).
This device slightly advances the lower jaw moving the base of the tongue forward to open the airway. This improves breathing and reduces or eliminates snoring and sleep apnea.
There are different types of oral appliances:
- Pre-fabricated non-custom oral appliances
- tongue retaining devices
- and custom-made mandibular advancement devices.
Our practice provides custom-made mandibular advancement devices that are FDA-approved for the treatment of snoring and sleep apnea. Over the counter, pre-fabricated or “boil and bite” appliances are not recommended for the treatment of OSA.
In addition to a detailed history, the doctors will assess the anatomic relationships in the maxillofacial region. The appliance is customized for each individual patient after taking impressions of your teeth and an X-ray or Scan.
Ready To Improve Your Sleep?
Contact us with any questions or to schedule an appointment.
Do I need an Oral Appliance?
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, oral appliances are indicated for patients with snoring or mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea who prefer oral appliances to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).
Oral Appliance are also indicated for severe patients, who have difficulty tolerating, are non-compliant with or refuse CPAP.
Oral appliances are comfortable, easy to wear and most people find that it only takes a couple of weeks to become acclimated to wearing the appliance. These appliances are small, making them easy to carry when traveling.
Most insurance companies cover Oral Appliance therapy. Our office will collect all pertinent information required by insurance and work with them to ensure maximum coverage.
Surgical treatment of Sleep Apnea
Maxillo-Mandibular Advancement
Is a surgical procedure or Sleep Surgery ;which moves the upper jaw (maxilla) and the lower jaw (mandible) forward. The procedure was first used to correct deformities of the facial skeleton to include malocclusion.
In the late 1970s advancement of the lower jaw (mandibular advancement) was noted to improve sleepiness in three patients.
Position paper by AAOMS
https://www.aaoms.org/docs/govt_affairs/advocacy_white_papers/osa_position_paper.pdf
