What Type of Oral Appliances are Used for Sleep Apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea, the most common type, is the result of the tongue or other soft tissues blocking the flow of air through the throat. All the muscles in your body relax while you sleep, but if the muscles in your mouth relax too much, it can cause some serious problems. If our Thousand Oaks sleep apnea expert determines that something is blocking your airways, we offer several oral appliances to remedy the situation.

 

One of the devices we offer is a mandibular advancement device (MAD). A MAD is similar to a sports mouth guard in that it pushes the lower jaw forward so that the airways can remain open. Another device our Thousand Oaks sleep apnea oral appliance expert offers is a tongue retaining device. This prevents the tongue from collapsing into the throat and blocking air flow. There are many different appliances available, so make sure to pick the best one for you.

 

Our dentist will examine your dental structure in order to get the best appliance for your specific case of sleep apnea. It is very important to get a proper device since a wrong one could lead to temporomandibular joint disorder. This is the result of too much stress on the jaw, which can be caused by an incorrect positioning of the appliance.