Oral Appliance Therapy
Tigard, OR
 You are exhausted. You have been getting to sleep earlier and earlier, but you don’t feel refreshed. Your head hurts all the time. You finally went to the doctor, and the doctor diagnosed you with sleep apnea. Now that you know what the problem is, what do you do? Your doctor gave you options for treatment, but none of them sound very appealing. If you are looking for other methods of therapy, you might want to look at oral appliances that can help you breathe. If you are trying to figure out what to do about your sleep apnea, let Lincoln Center Smiles give you information about therapy for sleep apnea with oral appliances.
What Do I Have?
If your doctor has told you that you have sleep apnea, you need to know what that is. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder. Most doctors think that sleep apnea is caused by too much tissue in your throat, but that is not true for everyone.
Sleep apnea causes your breathing to stop for several seconds many, many times during the night. It is this constant pausing that means you don’t sleep the way you should. Your body never gets a chance to rest and reset with sleep apnea. You don’t go into deep sleep at all. This is dangerous for your body in the long run. Over time, sleep apnea can lead to serious problems, such as memory loss, poor weight control, and depression. People with sleep apnea also have difficulty breathing. They may have high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease. Sleep apnea could be life-threatening.
Treatment for Sleep Apnea
There are several treatments for sleep apnea available. Currently, the treatment for sleep apnea includes a mask. The mask allows you to breathe normally. This is important because when you wear the mask, you get the rest your body needs. However, many people with sleep apnea don’t like the mask. They find it uncomfortable, and they hate wearing a mask all night. Other people choose to have a medical procedure to get rid of excess tissue in their throat. Some people choose not to have the procedure because they have problems with surgery. Other people don’t want to undergo anesthesia.
You may want to think about getting treatment for sleep apnea with an oral appliance. This therapy is fairly new, and also fairly simple. The oral appliance allows you to wear a guard in your mouth at night. It is small but effective. It works to pull your jaw forward. You will have no masks and no surgery. Our office can make you an appliance fairly quickly.
You have to come in to see us, and we can make an impression of your teeth. Then, we can make you an appliance for your mouth. You come back in to see us, and then you wear it at night. We think you will have the best sleep that you have had in years. Do you want to discuss oral appliances, or do you have questions about sleep apnea?
Give Lincoln Center Smiles a call at (503) 598-0898. That way you can take steps towards better sleep!
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