What are sleep apnea dentists?

Sleep apnea dentists are dentists who specialize in orthodontics (the branch of dentistry that corrects teeth alignment, jaw problems and malocclusions). This specialization allows them to treat sleep apnea by creating custom mouthpieces that allow the sleep apnea patient to keep their airways open while they sleep.

How can they treat sleep apnea?

Through the development of custom mouthpieces, a sleep apnea dentist corrects the position of your lower jaw and tongue in such a way that your airway remains open, therefore allowing uninterrupted breathing while you sleep. This sleep apnea treatment is usually recommended for mild to moderate sleep apnea symptoms.

Once you have consulted with your dentist about the possibility of developing a mouthpiece to treat your sleep apnea, regular visits to the sleep dentist will be necessary to manage the adjustment period and also to handle possible side effects such as pain, discomfort or other issues that might occur at the beginning of treatment.

Together with your regular physician, sleep apnea dentists can recommend that you minimize the effects of other negative factors that can contribute to the severity of your sleep apnea. For example, being overweight is a significant factor that can aggravate sleep apnea. Losing weight is one important treatment all doctors recommend to reduce the occurrences of sleep apnea.

If your symptoms do not improve after your sleep apnea dentist has developed your custom mouthpiece, your physician might recommend that you undergo sleep apnea surgery. This nasal, throat or mouth surgery aims to widen the airways and reduce the occurrences of sleep apnea.