Sleep Apnea

Dental Sleep Medicine is a specialized area of practice that focuses on managing sleep-related breathing disorders such as snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. These disorders can cause your body to stop breathing during sleep, leading to a reduction in the amount of oxygen delivered to your organs, including your heart and brain. People with sleep apnea may snore loudly and stop breathing for short periods of time, leading to excessive daytime sleepiness, memory loss, morning headaches, irritability, depression, decreased sex drive, and impaired concentration. When left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to hypertension, stroke, heart attack, and sudden death while asleep.

Oral appliances are a front-line treatment for snoring and mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. These small plastic devices fit in the mouth during sleep like a sports mouthguard or orthodontic retainer, helping to prevent the collapse of the tongue and soft tissues in the back of the throat, keeping the airway open during sleep and promoting adequate air intake. Oral appliances may be used alone or in combination with other treatments for sleep-related breathing disorders, such as weight management, surgery, or CPAP.

Oral appliance therapy involves the selection, fitting, and use of a specially designed oral appliance that maintains an open, unobstructed airway in the throat when worn during sleep. Custom-made oral appliances are proven to be more effective than over-the-counter devices, which are not recommended as a screening tool nor as a therapeutic option. Dentists with training in oral appliance therapy can help determine which appliance is best suited for your specific needs and work as a team with your physician to provide diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care.

The initial evaluation phase of oral appliance therapy can take several weeks or months to complete, including examination, evaluation, fitting, maximizing adaptation of the appliance, and function. On-going care, including short- and long-term follow-up, is an essential step in the treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea with oral appliance therapy.

Advantages of oral appliance therapy include comfort, ease of wear, convenience, reversibility, and non-invasiveness. Oral appliances work by repositioning the lower jaw and tongue, stabilizing the lower jaw and tongue, and increasing the muscle tone of the tongue. If you have symptoms of sleep apnea, it is important to seek diagnosis and treatment to improve your overall health and quality of life.

Other Treatment Options

There are three primary ways to treat snoring and sleep apnea, in addition to lifestyle changes such as good sleep hygiene, exercise, and weight loss. The most common treatment is Continuous Positive Air Pressure. CPAP keeps your airway open by providing a steady stream of air through a tube connected to a mask that you wear as you sleep. Another option is surgery performed by an AADSM member trained as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. A surgeon can prevent the airway collapses by eliminating tissue in the soft palate, uvula, and tongue.

Upper Airway Surgery
See The American Academy of Dental

Sleep Medicine
More complex surgical procedures can reposition the anatomic structure of your mouth and facial bones. Dr. Johnson only refers to Oral and maxillofacial Surgeons who understand the full scope of this complex surgery.

G. William Arnett, DDS, FACD and Michael J. Gunson, DDS, MD or surgeons who have been trained by them and who have adopted their philosophy, are where I would get an evaluation if I was considering a surgical option for sleep apnea.