Oral Appliance Therapy
for Sleep Breathing Disorders
Sleep medicine dentist Dr. Phillip Durden provides oral appliance therapy for patients that have been referred by their physician for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep breathing disorders.
Sleep Breathing Disorders
Disordered sleep breathing is a group of conditions that impair breathing during sleep, including obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, hypopnea and upper airway resistance syndrome.
‹Obstructive’ sleep breathing describes upper airway blockage (partial or full) from the tongue, palate or other airway soft tissue. As the body relaxes during sleep, the tongue may fall back into the airway, or, the soft tissue around the airway walls may collapse, preventing air flow (or stop it altogether).
Sleep ‘apnea’ occurs when the patient stops breathing during sleep; sleep apnea can be classified as obstructive sleep apnea (airway blocked) or central sleep apnea (the brain does not send instructions to the body to breathe).
Most sleep apnea patients stop breathing several times during the night. Learn more about Sleep Apnea.
Snoring
While snoring may not be a sign of a sleep breathing disorder, it is also caused by soft tissues that extend into the airway and create the rattling sound of snoring during sleep. Chronic, loud snoring may be a sign of an underlying health problem. Learn more about snoring.
Oral Appliance Therapy for Airway Management
Dr. Phillip Durden has years of experience and training in oral appliance therapy for patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Image courtesy of True Function Laboratory
If you snore frequently, have mild to moderate OSA or are CPAP intolerant, your sleep physician may prescribe oral appliance therapy and refer you to Dr. Durden for evaluation for a removable mouth appliance to aid with sleep breathing.
An oral sleep appliance resembles a dental mouthguard, it is worn over the upper and lower teeth and connected by a pair of hinges or interchangeable tension straps to allow for adjustments. The oral sleep appliance is made of durable resin or acrylic materials that make it easy to keep clean.
Dr. Durden designs the oral sleep appliance to fit your teeth, and he or medical sleep professionals will adjust or ‘titrate’ the appliance to shift the lower jaw in a position to keep the airway open. If the tongue is falling backward and causing airway blockage during sleep, Dr. Durden can design an appliance that will help stabilize the tongue and palatal tissue to prevent this from happening.
Your physician and Dr. Durden will recommend periodic sleep study testing (either at a sleep facility or using a portable home testing device) to measure the effectiveness of your appliance. Dr. Durden will also see you for follow-up care to make sure you are comfortable wearing the appliance and will make adjustments based on the sleep physician's findings.
Your Dental Sleep Medicine of Athens Consultation for Oral Appliance Therapy
We want you to feel completely comfortable in our care beginning with your very first phone call to our practice. When you schedule your consultation appointment for oral appliance therapy, we will talk with you about your physician's findings and go over what to expect. Our online registration forms will make the check-in process faster and more efficient for you and our team.
After you arrive, we will greet you like an old friend and seat you comfortably in our exam room. Dr. Durden and our clinical assistant will meet with you to learn more about you and your health, and go over the process of oral appliance therapy. A few basic steps include:
Dr. Durden will examine your teeth, jaw joints and oral soft tissues and review necessary x-rays to assess your dental health. This will also provide him with information needed to design your oral sleep appliance.
We will take impressions of your upper and lower teeth to send to our dental laboratory with instructions to fabricate your custom sleep appliance.
In 2-3 weeks, you will return to our office to receive your oral sleep appliance. Dr. Durden will adjust the settings to meet the sleep specialist's specifications.
You will be asked to wear your oral sleep appliance every night while you sleep. Being consistent is very important to help you gain the most benefit from your oral appliance therapy.
Dr. Durden or your physician will recommend additional sleep studies or home sleep tests and follow up visits based on your diagnosis and progress.
The goal of oral appliance therapy for treatment of sleep breathing disorders is to maintain an open airway and prevent airway blockage to support proper breathing during sleep.
Your Local Athens Dental Sleep Medicine Provider
At Dental Sleep Medicine of Athens, we want you to sleep better, breathe better and feel better.
If you have questions about oral appliance therapy for sleep breathing disorders, please do not hesitate to Contact Dental Sleep Medicine of Athens. Our dedicated team of professionals will be more than happy to assist you.