Several dental appliances are available to treat snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.  Research has shown that oral (dental) appliances can be quite effective and can be considered as a treatment alternative when deciding upon a course of treatment.  Intraoral sleep appliances have several advantages over other treatment modalities.  They are non-invasive, less expensive, reversible, and well tolerated by patients.  The primary indications for intraoral sleep appliances are to treat snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnea. [For more about sleep apena see below.] The appliance does this by moving the mandible and tongue forward thereby preventing airway collapse.  Many times an intraoral sleep appliance is a great alternative for those patients who are unhappy or don't do well with CPAP. If you are using CPAP now, or your doctor has recommended CPAP, and are looking for an alternative ask Dr. Schmid if an intraoral appliance might work for you.

More about sleep apnea:

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a common disorder caused by obstruction of the airway during sleep. Breathing is interupted by a physical block to airflow despite the effort to breathe. It can last for a few seconds to a minute.  When we breathe, air flows through the nasophyryngeal airway space.  As air passes through the airway it creates a negative pressure.  When the muscles relax during sleep, this negative pressure can become strong enough to pull on the soft tissue, causing it to flap in the airway and make a noise we call snoring.  At a certain point the negative pressure can become great enough to cause the complete collapse of the airway.  At that point the individual is trying to breath, but cannot.  As a result the brain kicks in and says "you're not breathing--wake up!"  As you wake up muscle tone is reestablished and the airway opens back up.  Rarely is the person with sleep apnea aware of having breathing difficulty, even after awakening.  OSA is more common in males and in individuals that are overweight.  It progressively worsens with age.  Symptoms may include snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, awakenings, gasping and choking at night, and fragmented sleep patterns.