Treating Sleep Apnea with Our Midland Dentists
Looking for a sleep apnea specialist in Midland? Look no further. Boss & Rorvik Family Dental and Dental Sleep Therapy can treat sleep apnea right here in our dental practice.
Sleep apnea, or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a potentially life-threatening medical disorder that causes your body to stop breathing during sleep. The muscles in your throat relax and the tongue may fall back and block the airway as you sleep, reducing the amount of oxygen delivered to all of your organs including your heart and brain.
People with sleep apnea may snore loudly and stop breathing for short periods of time. The breathing pauses from sleep cause your body to briefly wake while you remain unaware. This can happen hundreds of times per night, and you may wake up feeling unrefreshed.
In addition to snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep apnea can cause memory loss, morning headaches, irritability, depression, and impaired concentration. When left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to hypertension, stroke, heart attack, and sudden death while asleep (American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine).
Has CPAP Failed You?
Research shows that CPAP failure is high. Most patients find the CPAP mask uncomfortable. In a study in which patients tried both an oral appliance and CPAP, patients preferred the oral appliance 20-1 over CPAP. In fact, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends oral appliances as the first line of treatment for mild and moderate sleep apnea and in cases of severe apnea when CPAP has not worked.
Boss & Rorvik Family Dental and Dental Sleep Therapy employs the use of oral appliance therapy for the treatment of sleep apnea and sleep-related breathing disorders. An oral appliance is a device worn in the mouth only during sleep. The device fits like a sports mouthguard or orthodontic retainer and prevents the airway from collapsing by either holding the tongue or supporting the jaw in a forward position. With an oral appliance, we can minimize or eliminate the symptoms of sleep apnea in mild to moderate cases, thereby possibly eliminating the need for a CPAP machine.