Toronto beaches,stop snoring appliance,dental sleep apnea CPAP problems

This is a quick overview on snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. For a better (but longer) explanation of this topic found on our website please click on the following link:

http://www.beachdentistry.com/snoringapnea-appliance

Do you snore or is your partner's snoring preventing you from getting goodnight’s sleep?

A dental appliance can be a great solution for people who snore.

What causes snoring?

When we fall asleep our tongue can relax and fall towards the back of your throat and cause your airway to narrow. If you breath in air in through the narrowed airway this can cause the soft tissues in the back of your mouth to vibrate. This causes the annoying noise that we call snoring.

Some Loud Snorers also may have a condition called Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)

If your airway becomes completely closed off (by your relaxed tongue or other factors as can occur in loud snorers) your lungs will not be getting any fresh oxygen.

This will lead to lower levels of oxygen in your blood stream.This causes your brain to awaken you just enough to take a quick breath or two.

This is why snorers sometimes wake up with a sudden gasp for air. You then promptly fall back to sleep

Sleep Apnea is the complete stoppage of air entering our lungs during sleep for at least ten seconds at a time in adults (less time in children).

A significantly reduced amount of oxygen in the lungs and blood is called a Hypopnea. This low level of incoming air and oxygen will also lead to awakenings.

People who suffer from sleep apneas or hypopneas can “wake-up” briefly anywhere from several times an hour in mild cases to several hundreds of times a night in patients who have severe sleep apnea

Waking up several hundred times a night to breathe is a serious disturbance of your regular sleep cycle. This can have potentially serious effects on our daytime functioning and health.

Symptoms of Sleep Apnea:

• sleepiness during the day
• difficultly concentrating

• sexual dysfunction
• depression and/or irritability
• decreased abilility to learn new tasks / experience memory problems
• falling asleep while at work, on the phone or while driving
• higher risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke as sleep apnea is a strain on the heart and the circulatory system

Do you have sleep apnea or do you simply snore?

In order to treat problem snoring we need to know whether you snore or whether you also suffer from obstructive sleep apnea(OSA). Why is this important?

This is in order to provide you with the most appropriate treatment.

How do you know if you have obstructive sleep apnea or if you simply snore?

This is best done in consultation with your family doctor.

You are more likely to have obstructive sleep apnea if you have some of the following:

- if you wake up choking or gasping and you snore loudly

- you gasp or stop breathing during sleep

- you feel tired when you wake up and during the day

- you fall asleep while driving, reading or watching television

- you are forgetful or have trouble concentrating

- if you are overweight

- if you have high blood pressure

- if you have a large neck

- if your spouse or sleeping partner has told you that you struggle to breath while you sleep

It is appropriate for you to consult with your family doctor re: problem snoring before seeking treatment from a dentist. Your doctor will determine whether you may be at risk or suffer from obstructive sleep apnea or whether you a simply a snorer. If you are at risk for OSA your doctor should refer you to a physician who specializes in sleep.

How is Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treated?

If you snore or have Mild to Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea:

There are several dental appliances on the market that can effectively eliminate snoring and can be helpful in treating mild to moderate OSA.

How do dental appliances eliminate snoring or improve mild to moderate OSA?

A commonly used appliance to treat snoring and mild to moderate OSA is a dental appliance that brings the lower jaw into a more forward position during sleep.

The base of our tongue is attached to our lower jaw so if the lower jaw is brought forward by the appliance the back of our tongue is also brought forward during sleep, opening the airway, eliminating snoring and improving airflow into the lungs. I

There are several such appliances on the market. The appliance that I personally wear and make for my patients is called the SUAD Appliance, made by Strong Dental.

Here are some thoughts on the jaw repositioning dental appliances that

SUAD appliance as that is the appliance that I use:

The SUAD appliance is made up of two horseshoe shaped pieces of molded material, one piece that fits on the upper teeth and one that fits over your lower teeth. There is also an expandable and contractible bar that joins the upper molded piece to the lower. The bar expands somewhat like a telescope which means that the upper and lower sections are not rigidly fixed to one another, but instead, your lower jaw can open and close and move side to side while you wear the appliance.

The SUAD appliance brings your lower jaw into a more forward position, opening the airway during sleep.

The SUAD appliance, like other jaw repositioning appliances, are generally very effective in eliminating snoring, and as stated earlier are a recognized form of treatment for patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea.

However, if you have been diagnosed with Severe Obstructive sleep apnea the first method of treatment should be the use of a CPAP machine, and not a dental appliance.

Patients normally get the CPAP machine from their sleep physician.

The problem with the CPAP machine is that not everyone likes using it. Some patients won’t use it at all while others may use it for a few months or a few years and then stop.

Many problems that patients experience with CPCP can be overcome with some work and patience, however for some patients the CPAP is just not acceptable to them.

If you snore or have OSA and wish to have a dental appliance to help improve your sleep what is your next step?

I advise patients that if they have OSA they may consider the use of a CPAP unit.

Even with mild to moderate sleep apnea one cannot guarantee the success of a dental appliance for every patient. Everyone has different anatomy and bringing the lower jaw forward during sleep may not open the airway enough to relieve the apnea symptoms.

However if they have tried the CPAP or refuse to use it we can then assess the suitability of a dental appliance for them.

1. Make sure you have seen your family doctor first. He/she will will refer you to a sleep physician when appropriate to assess whether you simply snore or whether you also have obstructive sleep apnea.

2. Once you have seen your physician and /or sleep phyician and have decided that you wish to have a dental sleep appliance made, call our office (416-691-2886) for an appointment.

3.. I will examine your jaws, jaw joints(TMJ) , gums and teeth to ensure that you are a suitable candidate for the appliance.

4. If you have your own regular dentist and he/she does not make sleep appliances I can still make the appliance for you, and refer you back to your own dentist for regular ongoing care.

2. If you do not have a dentist and you have loose teeth or broken down or decayed teeth you will need to get you’re your mouth into better health before having an appliance made or else the appliance won’t fit well and won’t be long lasting. I can do this for you.

3. An x-ray of your teeth and jaws will be necessary to ensure they are in good health before proceeding with the appliance.

4. Models will be made of your teeth and a record will be made of your bite.

5. We send the lab a record of your bite with your lower jaw in a forward position as well as models of your teeth.

6. The lab makes a custom made appliance from your models.

7. You receive your appliance and to learn about the use, care and maintenance of the appliance.

What are some features of the SUAD appliance?

→The SUAD is comfortable.

→It fits your teeth snugly

→It allows you to open and close your mouth as well as drink liquids while you wear the appliance.

→The appliance is adjustable; With the SUAD appliance the distance that your jaw is set forward can be easily adjusted by the patient or the dentist in a minute or so, without any tools.

→the SUAD appliance is very durable and special modifications can be made to the appliance for use with patients that are chronic tooth grinders;

→the appliance should be expected to last for several years and can usually be modified/refitted to be refitted to your teeth if you have dental treatment done.

→The SUAD appliance comes with a two year warranty to repair the appliance at no cost to the patient.

If you have few or no teeth you can still be a candidate for a dental appliance such as the SUAD however you do need something to hold the appliance in your mouth. Placing regular or mini implants in your upper and/or lower jaw could give a dental appliance the support that the appliance needs.

There are two types of SUAD Appliances:

There is the regular SUAD appliance I have discussed up until now. However if you are unsure whether you can benefit from a dental sleep appliance you can have atempororary SUAD appliance made for about half the cost of a permanent appliance.

The temporary SUAD appliance. which is a similar dental device to the SUAD appliance but with one difference: it is made of plastic components and will only likely last only weeks versus years as compared to the permanent SUAD appliance.

The temporary appliance is simply meant to allow you to know if you would benefit from a dental sleep appliance with a lower initial financial commitment.

If you decide you like the temporary appliance and would like to go on to have a permanent appliance made we do reduce our permanent fee.

The temporary SUAD Appliance is good for patients who are afraid to commit to the permanent appliance without a trial run. The temporary appliance works the same as the permanent but is made with less costly material and as a result, less durable material. The temporary appliance may only last weeks rather than years . The patient can keep the temporary appliance as a spare if they decide to have the permanent appliance made.

Are there complications that patients experience if they wear jaw advancing appliances?

When patients awake in the morning their bite will likely feel somewhat different for the first 10-15 minutes. This is temporary.

If you would like to have a snoring/OSA appliance made in our office:

Please ask your MD or sleep specialist for a letter outlying your diagnosis, i.e. mild/moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea (they can give you the letter or mail/fax/e-mail it to me with your permission).

Please contact our office for a sleep appliance consultation.

Patients with sleep apnea may be asked by their sleep specialist to return for a sleep study to ensure that the appliance has been effective in treating the apnea.

A good night's sleep for you and your partner is well worth the money spent. Our sleep appliance can provide many years of sound, quiet and restful sleep.

Snoring and obstructive sleep apnea are manageable conditions. You owe it to yourself, your partner and other family members to get properly diagnosed and treated.

If you would like to book a free 15 minute consultation to view the SUAD Appliance or to discuss your options or if you have any questions

please feel free to contact our office by phone or e-mail, or visit the contact section of our web site.

Best regards,

Dr. Jeff Shnall B Sc., DDS

tel: 416-691-2886 fax: 416-691-6847
e-mail: dr.shnall@gmail.com