Sleep Apnea

If you suffer from snoring or consistently get a poor night’s sleep from sleep apnea or sleep breathing disorders, oral appliance therapy could be the answer. Mojgan Hashemi, DDS, at Los Robles General & Cosmetic Dental Center in Thousand Oaks, California, may recommend oral appliance therapy to improve your breathing and get the sleep you need. Call the office or schedule an appointment online to learn more about sleep apnea treatment.

What is sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that causes your breathing to stop and start repeatedly. You may wake up tired even after a full night’s sleep and struggle to stay awake and alert throughout the day.

Common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:

• Loud snoring
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Waking up with a dry mouth
• Waking up with a headache
• Difficulty staying asleep
• Irritability
• Difficulty paying attention and focusing during the day
• Excessive sleepiness during the day

If you share a bed with a partner, they may report that you stop breathing during your sleep.

How is sleep apnea treated?

A mild case of sleep apnea can be treated with lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking and losing weight. If your sleep apnea is caused by nasal allergies, treating the allergies can relieve the symptoms of sleep apnea.

For more severe cases of sleep apnea, common treatments and therapies include:

• Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP)
• Auto continuous positive airway pressure (Auto-CPAP)
• Bilevel positive airway pressure (BiPAP)
• Oral appliances
  
  

CPAP machines are the typical treatment option for sleep apnea, but some people never adjust to it and can’t sleep using them. Oral appliance therapy may be a better option if you've tried CPAP without success. 

Los Robles General & Cosmetic Dental Center has several oral appliance devices. You may need to try different devices to find the one that works best for you.

What is oral appliance therapy for sleep apnea?

Sleep apnea and snoring are caused by the obstruction of your airway. For many people, this is due to soft tissues collapsing. Oral appliance therapy keeps the soft tissues in your neck and throat from relaxing and collapsing while you sleep. 

An oral appliance is custom-fit to your mouth to keep your airway free from obstruction. It’s designed to gently pull the lower jaw forward to tighten the muscles in the upper airway and prevent vibrating (snoring) and prevent blocking the airway while you sleep (sleep apnea). 

The appliance removes stress from the soft tissues in the throat and helps keep your tongue from rolling back to block the airway.

Call the office or schedule an appointment online today to find out if oral appliance therapy can help treat your snoring or sleep apnea.