What Types of Oral Appliances are Used for Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a serious condition that affects many millions of Americans. Unfortunately, many millions more go undiagnosed. If you are suffering from sleep apnea, identifying and treating sleep apnea is an important step for your overall health. There are a few different sleep apnea oral appliances that are used for treating the disorder.

 

The most common oral appliance for treating sleep apnea is called a mandibular advancement device. It is worn at night like a mouth guard would be worn. A mandibular advance device works by gently moving the lower jaw forward as your sleep. When this happens, it has the effect of holding the collapsible part of the airway open. Since your tongue is connected to the lower jaw, it prevents your tongue from being able to fall back as your sleep. A tongue retaining device may be used instead, but it works slightly differently. Instead of moving the lower jaw forward, a tongue retaining device only holds the tongue forward, producing the same effect.

 

It is recommended that you only use an oral appliance that has been prescribed to your by your doctor. There are boil and bite versions of oral appliances available, but these types of devices are not going to fit your mouth as well and may end up causing issues like jaw problems. An oral appliance that has been prescribed by your doctor will be custom-designed for your mouth, and will be all the more effective as a result.