Sleep apnea treatment from Bandeen Orthodontics of Battle Creek
While snoring is troublesome, sleep apnea is a medical diagnosis indicative of a serious medical problem. Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, and not everyone with sleep apnea snores. Sleep apnea basically means that you stop breathing while you sleep.
There are a couple of different types of sleep apnea: central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea. Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) happens when the brain doesn’t tell your body to breath. Central Sleep Apnea is not treated with oral appliance therapy. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) occurs when your airway closes by being obstructed. If your lower jaw falls down and back causing a blockage or obstruction of the airway, then an oral appliance (mouthpiece) can sometimes be used to help maintain the position of the lower jaw so that your airway remains open.
There are multiple options for treatment if you have been diagnosed with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. You and your physician will discuss those options. You may have the option of having an oral appliance. If you and your physician decide that an oral appliance might be a good choice for you, your physician can send our team on your behalf the following items:
- a referral to our office
- a prescription for your oral appliance
- a report of your diagnosis
We can help you communicate with your physician about what they’ll be sending to our team.
At Bandeen Orthodontics and Center for Dental Sleep Medicine, we use a state of the art custom Oral Appliance therapy (a mouthpiece) called The Bfit Sleep Appliance to treat your diagnosed sleep apnea. The Bfit Sleep Appliance is an FDA cleared medical device that helps posture your lower jaw (mandible) forward to help keep your airway open while you sleep.
If you’re wearing a CPAP and it’s working well for you, then you shouldn’t leave your successful treatment; however, if you are struggling to be consistent with your current sleep apnea treatment, then maybe you should talk to us and to your physician about the alternatives that are available.
Please call or text us at 269-963-4118 to start your process today.
