Snoring or Sleep Apnea Devices

Do you or your partner suffer from loud, chronic snoring that keeps other members of your family awake?

Here a Signs of Sleep Apnea

  • Morning headaches,
  • Sore throats
  • Feelings of exhaustion and fatigue part of your daily routine
  • Frequent use of the restroom at night time
  • Sudden spike in Blood pressure
  • Neck size larger than 17 inches in men and 16 inches in women

Leaving these symptoms untreated can have a potentially dangerous health problem that can badly affect your health, personal relationships, and enthusiasm in everyday life. Many patients are surprised to find out that a dentist can help treat sleep apnea. Dr. Jennifer Miller does a screening for sleep apnea and can refer to the appropriate physician to get a proper diagnosis. Dr Miller then can work with the sleep medicine physician for the custom treatment. This can include a sleep appliance.

What causes sleep apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when a patient’s airway becomes fully or partially blocked during sleep, reducing their oxygen intake to dangerous levels. This prompts the brain to awaken the patient so they can readjust. While this awakening may only last a few seconds and be promptly forgotten, it can happen up to hundreds of times each night, effectively preventing you from receiving the deep sleep you need to function the next day. Over time, untreated sleep apnea can lead to higher blood pressure, greater risk of car accidents, problems with concentration and memory, and other unpleasant consequences.

Treatment Options

Thankfully, there are multiple solutions to address your sleep apnea and achieve a better night’s sleep. This includes oral appliance therapy and combined therapy, two of the most effective solutions to preventing apnea episodes and staying asleep throughout the night.

Oral appliance therapy

Doctors and sleep specialists often recommend CPAP therapy as the best way to combat sleep apnea, but many patients cannot handle the bulky machinery and loud noises involved. Alternatively, a custom oral appliance from Dr. Miller is convenient, comfortable, and typically very effective for people with mild to moderate sleep apnea symptoms. The “snoreguard” repositions your jaw and/or tongue so the airway stays safely unblocked, keeping your sleep uninterrupted and helping you look forward to the joys of a new morning instead of dreading it.

Combined therapy

In some cases, dentists may recommend both the CPAP therapy machine as well as an oral appliance. In many cases, patients run into compliance issues with CPAP machines, forcing them to discontinue its use. By combining these treatments, you can effectively lower the settings of the CPAP machine, which may be uncomfortable for you to use on higher settings. Oral appliances work to complement your treatment, making it ideal for those with severe sleep apnea and more difficulty using CPAP on its own.