Dental Appliance For Sleep Apnea And Tmj
But the downside of living with untreated osa and the potentially life threatening side effects that come with it outweighs the risks of treatment.
Dental appliance for sleep apnea and tmj. Although cpap is the most popular sleep apnea treatment dental appliances are becoming more common as research solidifies their efficacy in treating mild to moderate sleep apnea and snoring. Every potential treatment for sleep apnea has its downsides cpap the inconvenience or discomfort surgery the potential complications and down time dental devices the movement of teeth. After graduating from grand valley state university with a bachelor s degree in biomedical sciences dr. Wilson went to the university of michigan school of dentistry graduating in 2000.
If you have persistent symptoms of sleep apnea and don t use your cpap you should have a conversation with your sleep doctor to review alternative treatments including potentially using an oral appliance and trying some exercises as long as you do not have severe sleep apnea oral appliances are a good and effective alternative to cpap in treating mild to moderate sleep apnea. As the use of these appliances which are sometimes referred to as mandibular advancement devices has grown in recent years so has concern about potential effects on the temporomandibular joints. Tmd sleep apnea clinic is the only practice in kitsap and olympic peninsula dedicated to non surgical solutions for temporomandibular joint disorders tmds craniofacial pain and non cpap alternatives to treat sleep apnea and snoring. Also called oral appliances the airways are opened by 1 preventing the lower jaw from falling back and down and 2 keeping the lower jaw slightly open and forward.
Oral devices for sleep apnea are often used as a substitute for cpap or sleep apnea surgery as they are more cost expensive and less invasive. At restore tmj sleep therapy we offer comfortable oral appliance therapy oat to our patients who are looking for cpap alternatives for treating their obstructive sleep apnea. She was a general dentist with a private practice until opening the center for sleep apnea and tmj. Oral appliances also called mandibular advancement devices mad can be used to treat sleep apnea as a 1st line therapy for people with mild or moderate sleep apnea.
It supports the jaw in a forward position to help maintain an open upper airway preventing sleep. Oral appliances are widely used to treat disruptive snoring and mild to moderate forms of obstructive sleep apnea osa a common and life threatening sleep disorder. The most commonly used appliance for dental devices when treating sleep apnea and snoring is the mads.