Dentists Can Treat Sleep Apnea as well
Are you aware that many dentists have received training to help treat and manage your snoring and sleep apnea? An area of dental practice that focuses on the use of oral appliance therapy to treat sleep-disordered breathing is known as dental sleep medicine. These professionals have received training to provide snoring and sleep apnea treatment and work together with sleep physicians for identifying the best treatment for every patient. A professional society of dentists known as the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AA DSM) helps patients to control their snoring and obstructive sleep apnea with the use of oral appliance therapy.
If you are having difficulties tolerating the CPAP therapy (continuous positive away pressure) or prefer an alternative treatment for sleep apnea you should be talking to sleep apnea treatment in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, for a solution today. The oral appliance therapy can help you and your partner to enjoy a good night’s sleep to improve your health and quality of life.
Your Health and Quality of Life
The quality of sleep you get every night can impact dramatically on your health, overall quality of life, and well-being. Obstructive sleep apnea and snoring not only disrupts your sleep but also increases your risks of severe health problems. You need to remember that snoring is a warning sign that shouldn’t be ignored. Throughout America, one in five adults is suffering from this problem and exposing themselves to the risks of hypertension, cardiovascular conditions and other problems that affect them. People are usually approaching physicians or cardiologists when they come across these conditions forgetting that dentist 92688 who have received the training in dental sleep medicine can provide them with oral appliance therapy for treating snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. People had recommended discussing the problem with their physician as well as their dentist near me about the treatment options available to them.
Oral Appliance Therapy Is Affordable Compared to Other Methods of Detecting Sleep Apnea
Even before dentists pioneered the use of oral appliance therapy general physicians working with sleep physicians were recommending patients suspected of having sleep apnea to undergo tests at a sleep clinic located far away from their places of work or home. The polysomnography test which is considered as the gold standard and still being used as the only option available for people to undergo the testing. Unfortunately, people had to wait for weeks if not months before they could get an appointment with the clinic for the testing in an unfamiliar environment.
The polysomnography test subjected the patient to an intrusive test with wires and tubes being attached to the body making the patient uncomfortable. The test was also unaffordable because of the high costs associated with it. The lack of insurance coverage burdened patients who often ignored the referrals provided by their physician leading to an aggravation of their condition. Matters were made even worse when sleep clinics delivered the results of the tests only after a couple of weeks.
Technological advances made it possible for people to undergo the home sleep apnea test in conjunction with their physicians to diagnose the condition of sleep apnea. While this was not an intrusive test it wasn’t in the affordable category. Patients preferred the home sleep apnea test instead of visiting a sleep clinic but still had to pay a higher price for the testing.
Introducing Oral Appliance Therapy
Dentists are the pioneers of the use of oral appliance therapy for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and snoring in adults. The oral appliance is worn in the mouth when sleeping and fits similar to a mouth guard or an orthodontic retainer. A custom-designed oral sleep appliance is considered as an effective treatment because it prevents the airway from collapsing by supporting the jaw in a forward position. This appliance is not provided by dentists working in the field of general dentistry but is a treatment that is only available from trained dentists that have specialized in dental sleep medicine. Before the treatment, the patient is diagnosed by a board-certified sleep medicine physician before the dentist Rancho Santa Margarita, CA takes over and provides oral appliance therapy if the patient is unable to tolerate the CPAP machine.
Many people are preferring oral appliance therapy because of its comfort, portability, noiseless nature, and ease of wear. Dentists trained in dental sleep medicine must be commended for developing the oral appliance which is proving beneficial for many by making it possible for them to avoid serious complications with their health.