ORAL APPLIANCE THERAPY
Custom-Made Appliances to Give You Better Sleep
Most patients with sleep apnea require help to achieve deep sleep and will be told to use a CPAP machine every night. However, according to studies, patients generally find sleeping with a CPAP so uncomfortable that nearly half stop using it after the first year! Fortunately, if you have mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), you have a simpler alternative—oral appliance therapy.
At Healthful Sleep Solutions Dr. Jared Evans can provide custom-made, comfortable appliances for patients with sleep apnea and/or snoring. These are easy to use and have been proven to dramatically increase sleep quality at night.
How Does Oral Appliance Therapy Work?
OSA/Primary Snoring is first diagnosed by a sleep physician. Dr. Evans has relationships with and works with several sleep physicians, both local and online, and can help accommodate this process for you. Once the sleep physician determines that Oral Appliance Therapy is an appropriate option for you, they will write a prescription for Dr. Evans to design a custom device for you. Worn only to bed, these appliances fit over the teeth just like an athletic mouthguard. They keep the airway open by slightly moving the lower jaw to a forward position, meaning that throat and facial tissues don’t relax to the point of stopping flow. As a result, you are able to sleep and breathe restfully night after night, giving them energy and focus to tackle the new day.
What Are the Advantages of Oral Appliance Therapy?
Easy to Use: With a CPAP, you have to plug in a machine and constantly clean a variety of tubes, but an oral appliance entails simply putting it in your mouth when you go to bed, and that’s it!
Improved Comfort: Specifically made for each patient, our oral appliances fit perfectly and help you enjoy a quality night’s rest. In fact, compared to the bulky mask of a CPAP machine, most patients find oral appliance therapy to be significantly more comfortable.
Completely Quiet: Unlike a loud CPAP, oral appliances make no noise, meaning you don’t have worry about disturbing your partner’s sleep.
Made for Travel: Because of its size and cumbersome tubing, a CPAP can be difficult to take on a trip, which why most patients simply leave their CPAP at home. However, those with sleep apnea who travel frequently can’t truly benefit from this treatment. Small enough to fit into your pocket, an oral appliance is easy to bring along in anyone’s luggage.
Who Could Benefit From an Oral Appliance?
An oral appliance can be beneficial for patients who:
• Have mild to moderate OSA
• Don’t like using their CPAP or are CPAP intolerant
• Use a CPAP but don’t get the results they want
• Have undergone corrective surgery but still have sleep apnea symptoms
• Snore every night (because of sleep apnea or not)
• Experience bruxism (unconscious teeth grinding) as well as sleep apnea
• Could improve their quality of sleep through combined therapy
Please note that with severe OSA or central sleep apnea, a CPAP machine and/or surgery may be the only viable treatment options available.
How Can You Get an Oral Appliance?
If your primary goal is to stop snoring, obtaining a sleep appliance with Dr. Evans is pretty simple. All you have to do is schedule a consultation here at Healthful Sleep Solutions and talk to him about your concerns, and he will examine your airway to determine whether an oral appliance can help. If there’s reason to believe that you might have sleep apnea, he may recommend a sleep test. Otherwise, he will digitally scan your teeth, and use digital models to design your appliance, which will be picked up at a later appointment.
If you already suspect that you have sleep apnea, you need to get a diagnosis first, which comes from a sleep test with a sleep doctor. If you need help, our team can arrange it for you. We offer at-home sleep testing so you don’t have to spend a night in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable lab. Afterward, the results are sent to a local sleep physician for evaluation. If diagnosed with sleep apnea, you are then eligible to receive a uniquely designed appliance with Dr. Evans.
What Should CPAP Users Do?
If you are already being treated with a CPAP machine and are interested in oral appliance therapy for whatever reason, we recommend that you consult your sleep doctor to determine whether or not oral appliance therapy could work for you. Based on that conversation, Dr. Evans can collaborate with the doctor to get you an oral appliance. Just keep in mind that oral appliance therapy may not be a good solution for everyone.
Is Oral Appliance Therapy Covered by Insurance?
Although Oral Appliances, fabricated for the treatment of Snoring and Sleep Apnea, come through a Qualified Dentist, they are not typically covered by dental insurance. In the majority of cases, Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) CAN be covered through medical insurance and Medicare, because it is a dental solution to a medical problem. We completely understand that this can be confusing for patients, but our office is very experienced with all things related to medical insurance and Medicare, and how to use your various benefits to reduce your out of pocket expense for your oral appliance. We can help!
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