Snoring & Sleep Apnea

Snoring, Sleep Breathing Disorders & Sleep Apnea

Sleep disorders range from the mild to the severe, from clenching and grinding teeth at night, to loud snoring, to actually not breathing for intervals while resting. Recently, this problem has gotten a lot of attention from doctors and dentists. The reason – breathing problems during sleep have been shown to contribute to serious health issues such as heart trouble, acid reflux/GERD, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc. Studies are showing the root problem for these health disorders is something very simple: they often result from inadequate rest due to sleep disturbances.
couple sleeping
If you think you might have Sleep Breathing Disorders, we have a short list of questions:

• Do you feel tired all the time?
• Do you nod off when driving or find yourself falling asleep when sitting down?
• Have others told you that you snore, gasp or stop breathing at intervals during the night?
• Does your spouse have to wear ear plugs or sleep in another room because of your snoring?

If you already know you have a sleep disorder, an important question is:

• do you have a CPAP, but do not use it?
oral appliance
If any of this sounds familiar, you might benefit from an oral appliance. Oral appliances are worn in the mouth and work to reduce snoring, open the airway and improve breathing. In addition to opening the airway, they also reduce clenching and grinding by opening the jaws and relaxing the facial muscles. An additional advantage is that an oral appliance can be cleansed as easily as brushing your teeth, so there is no need to purchase expensive cleansing agents or systems to clean CPAP masks and hoses.

At this time, for patients diagnosed with moderate to severe sleep apnea, the CPAP is considered the gold standard. However, if you travel and do not want to carry a CPAP with you, or if you do not like, or hate to use your CPAP system, then an oral appliance may prove very beneficial. Interestingly, new studies show an oral appliance can be nearly as effective as a CPAP, without all the hoses, tubes and masks that have to be constantly disinfected.

For more information about our Oral Appliances call:

304-622-5151