5 Questions You Should Ask

Before Getting an Oral Appliance for Your Sleep Apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Do you have trouble sleeping? If so, you’re not alone. An estimated 22 million Americans suffer from a lack of sleep—and even exhaustion—caused by sleep apnea. Chronic snoring problems and interrupted sleep aren’t just an inconvenience. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to more serious health risks including heart disease, stroke, and heart attacks. Sleep apnea is a common but serious sleep disorder that causes interruptions in breathing during sleep.

When we sleep, the combination of gravity and our muscles relaxing allows the tongue and surrounding soft tissues to fall back into the throat obstructing airflow in the airway. This causes pauses in breathing. These pauses are called apneas.

The word apnea means without breath. A person may have partial pauses in breathing (hypopneas), or complete pauses (apneas) that last 10 seconds or longer during sleep. These pauses in breathing are often accompanied by a drop in blood oxygen level.

The struggle to breathe and the drop in oxygen saturation will eventually cause the person to momentarily arouse, opening the throat allowing them to breathe again. These arousals are brief and typically not remembered the next morning. Longer apneas may cause the sufferer to fully awaken to a frightening feeling of choking. This pattern can occur hundreds of times per night interrupting the body’s normal sleep cycle and preventing the deep, restorative sleep our bodies need.

Some of the short-term consequences of sleep apnea are excessive daytime sleepiness, lack of energy, poor concentration, irritability, slowed reflexes and an increased risk of accidents.

Oral appliance therapy can be a very effective treatment choice for people suffering with obstructive sleep apnea and snoring.

However, not all oral appliances are the same, and FAR more important than the oral appliance itself is the experience and skill of the Dentist treating you with the oral appliance therapy.

Here are 5 Questions you need to have answered BEFORE you consider starting oral appliance therapy:

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Comparing And Contrasting CPAP And Oral Appliance Therapy

CPAP and Oral appliance therapy differ in significant ways. The CPAP mask forces air into the airway in order to keep it open. An oral appliance adjusts the positioning of the jaw or tongue to reduce the likelihood of an airway obstruction during sleep. The CPAP covers a sizeable portion of the patient’s face and can make them feel uncomfortable or even claustrophobic, while an oral appliance is worn inside of the patient’s mouth and is much more tolerable. The CPAP device is also inconvenient for travel, while an oral appliance can be easily stowed into a patient’s luggage.

Dr. Criss feels strongly that Sleep Apnea and TMD treatment can improve and save lives. We offers individual, 30-minute consultations on sleep breathing disorders and TMD issues. Whether it’s loud snoring, other sleep apnea symptoms, popping and clicking in your jaw, or daily pain, make sure you are not at risk for a very treatable, potentially life-threatening condition. Join us in our consultation to learn more about sleep apnea and TMD and get all of your questions answered. We have a limited number of consultation times available, so schedule yours as soon as possible.