What is an Oral Appliance Therapy?

Oral Appliance Therapy I'm a dentist, and I have sleep apnea. I found that out in 1997. And I was prescribed a CPAP machine, which I hated. I couldn't wear it, I wouldn't wear it. And then I discovered that there is a mouthpiece that dentists can make to treat sleep apnea. It goes by a lot of different names. like to call it oral appliance therapy, oh, he, where we make mandibular advancement device and mid to treat your obstructive sleep apnea OSA some people just call it a sleep apnea guide. Some called a sleep apnea jaw device. Some call it a sleep apnea oral appliance, some people call it a night guard. Okay. They can call it whatever they want. But dentists call it oral appliances or advancement devices that pull the tongue that were that all work the same way. They pull the jaw, they pull the jaw. They all work the same way by repositioning the jaw so that the they all work the same way by moving the tongue out of the airway so that you can sleep peacefully and obtain a good night's good restful night's sleep. Okay, now, when you have an oral appliance therapy done, you want to make sure that you go to a dentist who has been doing this for some time. Hopefully one who understands sleep apnea, because he'd been treated for sleep apnea himself. Okay, so that they know what it feels like to have sleep apnea. They know what it feels like to have have to use a CPAP machine. And they know what an oral appliance is, how to make it, how to fit it and make sure that it works for the patient. Okay, and you don't really know whether it's working or not upright properly, without doing a home sleep test, after it's been adjusted to the appropriate position to make sure that it's really doing what it's supposed to be doing. If it's not, then it gets modified, so that it will sometimes they'll add additional therapies to it.

And take such as your lifestyle procedures opening up the nasal airways taking the tonsils out if necessary, but 90 95% of the time, Sleep Apnea oral appliances, oral appliance therapy is about 9598 and about 85 to 90% effective the same as a CPAP machine and has a very high compliance rate. Also about 85 to 90%. Wear a CPAP machine even though it works about 85 90% of the time is usually only used about 40% of the time. Okay, so when when you weigh your choices, asleep apnea, oral appliance therapy, may be may be in the cards for you. It may be the right thing for you to do Now the thing about oral appliance therapy is that when you ask around, a lot of people don't even know it exists. You can ask your primary care doc, what he thinks of it. And they'll tell you never heard of it. Or if he did hear of it, and he said, Well, I don't know. Why don't you go just get the CPAP machine, we know it's going to be good. And we know it's going to be work and work and we know it'll be covered by most insurances. Well, some of these things are true, and some of these things are not true. Okay, oral appliances are FDA approved. American Academy of Sleep Medicine recognizes that they work. Okay. And most insurances including Medicare covered, there is some coverage for it. So, the question is always asked, Will my insurance work? Yes, not dental insurance, major medical, major medical insurance is going to help cover the cost of oral appliance therapy. Okay, and that includes most of your major carriers and Medicare