A sleep apnea appliance can be constructed for patients who have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). With OSA, the tongue falls back into the throat and blocks the airway off causing the patient to temporarily suffocate. Unfortunately, this can happen many times during every hour that the patient sleeps. Not only does this cut the oxygen off from the patient's body, but it denies the patient life renewing deep sleep. Many of these patients never really fully wake up the next morning or the next day.

          A sleep apnea appliance pulls the lower jaw forward and holds it there. The tongue attaches to the lower jaw so that when the lower jaw is pulled forward, the tongue has to come with it. Pulling the tongue forward prevents it from falling back into the throat and so prevents the temporary suffocations associated with OSA.

          Once it is fully established that a patient has OSA, then a sleep apnea appliance can be constructed and will probably be successful in preventing the suffocation episodes during the night. Unfortunately, there are several forms of sleep apnea and the type of sleep apnea that a patient has should always be determined with a careful sleep study. If this is not done, it is possible that an appliance can be made that will not work. No only will the device not work but the result could be as extreme as a sleep apnea death.

          If a sleep apnea appliance is successful, the patient feels much better. Interestingly, the OSA patient's sleeping partner often feels better because the appliance often also eliminates the snoring associated with so many of these patient's problems. If you have a sleep apnea problem and would like to consult with Dr. Padolsky, our sleep apnea dentist, make an appointment at 404-874-7428.