Do you suffer from sleep apnea? Are you aware that sleep apnea dental appliance can reduce or eliminate the effects of sleep apnea? Here’s a brief overview of several commonly used appliances.

Sleep Apnea Dental Appliance Used As Apnea Treatment

In sleep apnea, the muscles in the throat may relax too much, which narrows the airway significantly. The tongue may also collapse, or fold back, thereby closing off the air passage and disturbing the normal flow of breathing. This is a severe condition, one that may affect vital organs like the brain and heart. Oral appliances have been proven to provide positive results in sleep apnea patients by controlling the movement of the tongue or by repositioning the lower jaw to allow the airways to stay open. Sometimes, all a person may need is a sleep apnea dental appliance to help their sleep apnea symptoms, but most often, they are used in conjunction with a Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP) machine. To determine if a sleep apnea dental appliance is right for you, both your medical doctor and your dentist should evaluate your condition. However, it’s important that you choose a dentist that has experience in fitting these oral appliances. Not every dentist does, and a poorly fitted appliance may cause additional problems.

Different Types Of Oral Appliances

It may be difficult for you to believe that there are over forty different types of sleep apnea dental appliance available to help sleep apnea symptoms. However when you consult your dentist he may tell you these aids fall into two general categories, this will definitely make your selection faster and easier. What are the categories? There are based on how they work or by their specific design.

The names of these appliances are descriptive enough to give you the basic idea of how they work.Among all the two most widely used Sleep Apnea Dental Appliance are tongue retaining appliances and mandibular repositioning appliances. A retainer holds the tongue in a forward position if you are using a tongue retaining appliance, it stops the back of the tongue from collapsing during sleep. The second type of device puts the lower jaw in a protruded position to keep the airway open. Both of these oral appliances have been proven to be successful in curing sleep apnea patients.

Find the Right Dentist

Don’t just simply go to any dentist, the one that you are going to choose must have specific knowledge in this area. Remember that getting a right sleep apnea dental appliance is so important. Make sure your nasal passages and airways will be thoroughly examined with a diagnostic tool that uses sound waves. Only then the dentist will have the whole picture and consequently the sleep apnea dental appliance can be correctly fitted.