An oral appliance is a small, custom-made device that fits inside your mouth, much like a sports mouthguard or an orthodontic retainer. It’s designed specifically for you, based on precise measurements and impressions of your teeth and jaw. Made from medical-grade materials, this device is safe to wear while sleeping.
Most oral appliances work by slightly pushing your lower jaw (the bottom part of your mouth) a bit forward. This forward movement is key because it tightens the space at the back of your throat. By tightening this space, the appliance ensures the airway (the path air takes to get into your lungs) stays open. When the airway is more open, air flows more smoothly and quietly.
Whether it is a device that adjusts your jaw position or keeps your tongue from blocking your throat, the main goal is to ensure a clear, unobstructed path for air to flow into your lungs. This helps reduce pauses in breathing and snoring and improves the quality of your sleep.
Benefits of Oral Appliance Therapy
Using an oral appliance provides a range of benefits for those individuals seeking an alternative to CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) therapy
Effectiveness in Treating Mild to Moderate OSA
If you have light to moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), you stop breathing for short periods or breathe shallowly many times while you are asleep. This can happen a little or a lot each hour. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) measures how severe someone’s sleep apnea is by counting these interruptions in breathing every hour.
If your AHI score shows you don’t breathe properly between 5 and 29 times an hour, an appliance can help reduce those interruptions. This improves your sleep because you are breathing more steadily, not stopping, and always starting.
Reduction of Snoring
Snoring usually happens when the soft tissues (like your tongue and the soft part of the roof of your mouth) in the back of your throat relax too much and start vibrating as you breathe in and out. The oral appliance keeps these tissues from relaxing too much and causing that loud snoring sound. By wearing one of these, you ensure that air can move freely and quietly while you sleep, preventing the vibrations that cause snoring.
Improved Quality of Sleep
Sleeping through the night without any interruptions can greatly benefit your brain functions, how you feel emotionally, and your health in general. As it reduces the number of times you stop breathing or breathe shallowly while asleep, the appliance allows you to enter and stay in the deeper, more healing phases of sleep. You feel less tired during the day and have more energy to tackle your routine tasks.
Comfort and Ease of Use
An oral appliance is a small device that you wear inside your mouth when you sleep, and unlike a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) mask, it doesn’t have any external components. You don’t have to deal with the feeling of straps around your head or the sensation of air being pushed into your airway, which are common complaints with CPAP. This simplicity and comfort make it more likely for users to wear the oral appliance regularly, helping them stick to their treatment plan.
Less Intrusive
With a discreet dental device, it is easier to maintain physical closeness and intimacy with your loved one during the night. Oral appliances are hardly noticeable, unlike CPAP masks, which can be bulky and create a physical barrier between partners. You and your better half can be as spontaneous as you want without the appliance getting in the way or making you feel self-conscious.
Flexibility with Sleeping Positions
If you have ever used a CPAP mask, you know how it easily shifts out of place, reducing the effectiveness of the therapy or disrupting sleep. Since an oral device is worn inside the mouth and has no additional components, you move around more easily in bed and maintain your chosen sleep position throughout the night without worrying about the appliance’s performance being compromised.
Improvement in TMJ Disorders and Bruxism
Suppose you have a TMJ (temporomandibular joint) disorder. In that case, using an oral appliance can be especially beneficial. We can design your appliance to serve the dual purpose of keeping your airway open AND reducing the pressure on the jaw joint or preventing the teeth from grinding against each other.
Take Control of Your Sleep: Get Your Ideal Device
All the devices we offer at Patel Sleep Solutions have the FDA’s stamp of approval. We ensure each oral appliance fits perfectly for the person using it, based on what they specifically need. These devices work well over 90% of the time for people with mild to moderate sleep apnea. If you have a chronic or highly severe case of sleep apnea, the appliance can work alongside other treatments. Book a consultation with our experts today.
