How Your Dentist Can Use Oral Appliance Therapy to Treat Your Sleep Apnea

You toss and turn at night, snoring loudly, often keeping your partner awake. In the morning, you don’t feel like you got a restorative, full night’s sleep, even though you were in bed for eight hours. It could be sleep apnea — a common condition that affects at least 22 million Americans.

At Chelsea Dental Aesthetics in New York City, Dr. David Blaustein treats men and women for sleep apnea. Here, Dr. Blaustein explains how a simple oral appliance can effectively treat your sleep apnea so you and your family can get a good night’s sleep.

Sleep apnea is a dental problem?

Sleep apnea is a breathing problem that involves your mouth and throat, so it makes sense that Dr. Blaustein can expertly treat the condition. Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common type. It’s the result of your your throat muscles relaxing while you sleep, which allows the soft tissue in your mouth, including your tongue, to block your airway multiple times a night.

Each time this happens, you momentarily stop breathing. Your brain receives this alarming signal and wakes you up so you can resume breathing. This continual process of alternating between waking and sleeping may happen from 5-30 times or more each hour, all night long. As a result, you never fully reach the deep restful phases of sleep that your body needs.

Why treat sleep apnea?

Left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to serious health complications, including increasing your risk for:

• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Heart problems
• Daytime fatigue
• Metabolic syndrome
• Liver problems

Because loud snoring is one of the symptoms, you may be preventing your partner from getting enough sleep, as well.

Sleep apnea symptoms

Snoring is the most common symptom. If you’re not sure if you have sleep apnea, here are some other signs:

• Gasping or choking for air while you sleep
• Waking up with a dry mouth
• Insomnia
• Daytime fatigue
• Irritability
• Depression
• Trouble concentrating and staying focused
• Headaches
• Falling asleep during inappropriate times, such as at work or while driving

If you suspect you have sleep apnea, but you’re not interested in using a cumbersome continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, Dr. Blaustein offers another effective solution: oral appliance therapy.

Oral appliance therapy can relieve sleep apnea symptoms

A custom-fitted oral appliance repositions your jaw and tongue to improve airflow as you sleep. You can easily take it with you anywhere, even when you travel. The Chelsea Dental Aesthetics team takes impressions of your mouth and makes your custom oral appliance in-office.

When you wear your oral appliance, you no longer snore and you breathe continuously all night long so you can finally get a restful sleep. Oral appliances are so effective that most men and women notice an improvement the first night of wearing it.

A sleep apnea oral appliance is comfortable, portable, and discreet — it’s not visible when your mouth is closed — so you’re more likely to wear it every night. This improves your sleep patterns long-term. Additionally, it won’t keep you or your partner awake the way a CPAP can because the appliance doesn’t make noise.

If you have obstructive sleep apnea, we may be able to completely correct the problem and help you lower your risk of serious health complications simply by fitting you with a custom oral appliance.

Are you ready to get a good night’s sleep and take a step toward better health and well-being? Call to schedule a consultation with Dr. Blaustein, or click the button on this website to request an appointment that fits into your busy schedule.