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Struggling With Sleep Apnea? A Custom Oral Appliance Could Transform Your Nights
When you have sleep apnea, everything from your sleep quality to your moods, energy, and heart health can be impacted. Fortunately, the right treatment can help.
Over 30% of adults ages 20 and up in the United States have the most common form, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). While central sleep apnea disrupts breathing signals to your brain, OSA involves physical airway blockage that interferes with breathing.
If you have OSA, a custom device that fits in your mouth provides a more comfortable alternative to a loud and cumbersome continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine.
Our expert team at Swinney Dental in Tyler, Texas, provides custom sleep apnea appliances to help you experience more restful nights and better overall health.
Sleep apnea symptoms
Breathing well is always important, including during sleep. Because sleep apnea disrupts airflow, it often causes loud snoring.
Other common sleep apnea signs include:
- Gasping
- Choking
- Morning headaches
- Daytime fatigue
- Concentration difficulties
- Irritability
Left unmanaged, OSA can also raise your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
Custom sleep apnea appliances
Our Swinney Dental team offers several custom sleep apnea devices to decrease your symptoms, such as snoring.
Once your pulmonologist or physician requests such a device for you, we may recommend one of the following:
- Silent Nite® snore guard
- SomnoMed® sleep apnea device
- Respire® appliance
These devices fit comfortably over your teeth, thanks to impressions our team creates. Placed over your upper and lower teeth, they reposition your jaws to hold your airway open.
While these appliances work similarly, they have different connection systems, adjustability levels, and intended severity levels. They’re also made of slightly different materials. You might need to try more than one appliance until you find your preferred option.
Custom sleep apnea device results
Individual results vary, but research shows that custom sleep apnea appliances effectively reduce mild to moderate OSA symptoms for 67-91% of people by improving airflow during sleep.
Practices that can help include:
- Using the advice during the day at first to ease the adjustment period
- Wearing your appliance whenever you sleep
- Cleaning your appliance daily with mild soap and cool water
- Switching from sleeping on your back to side-sleeping
Lifestyle changes, such as eating primarily anti-inflammatory foods and exercising regularly, can help ease sleep apnea’s impact, too. Once you’ve started treatment, you may find these practices easier thanks to improved energy levels.
To learn more about wearable alternatives to CPAP machines or find out if one of our appliances suits you, contact Swinney Dental today.
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