Konig Center for Cosmetic & Comprehensive Dentistry
Monday, May 17, 2010
Properly Adjusting a Dental Sleep Appliance
Properly Adjusting a Dental Sleep Appliance
Each day, our office gets inquiries and questions about dental sleep apnea appliances and snoring. There seems to be a lot of information out there that is misleading to patients. From television advertisements to dentally fabricated appliances.
The most important thing to recognize is that a diagnosis needs to be made first, before any appliances or devices are bought or delivered. This is essential as those who snore do not know if they have sleep apnea or are just snoring. If a device is made without a sleep study or home monitor test, then it is similar to prescribing blood pressure medication without taking one's blood pressure.
In my experience in treating sleep apnea and providing alternatives to CPAP machines, the majority of patients think they only snore, whereas we have found the large majority of these patient's actually have sleep apnea. To simply place an appliance that reduces snoring without assessing how it treats the apnea is dangerous as it neglects the health aspect of the patient.
The proper way to treat snoring/sleep apnea is to have a sleep study to assess the risk. This can be done in the sleep lab or with an ambulatory monitor. For those who are candidates for dental sleep appliances, the dentist should have ambulatory monitors that will allow them to adjust these appliances to control the apnea.
If you have any questions regarding dental sleep appliances or TMJ pain, please call our office,
Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD, LVIF, a Houston Sleep Dentist and Houston TMJ Dentist.
713-668-2289
Each day, our office gets inquiries and questions about dental sleep apnea appliances and snoring. There seems to be a lot of information out there that is misleading to patients. From television advertisements to dentally fabricated appliances.
The most important thing to recognize is that a diagnosis needs to be made first, before any appliances or devices are bought or delivered. This is essential as those who snore do not know if they have sleep apnea or are just snoring. If a device is made without a sleep study or home monitor test, then it is similar to prescribing blood pressure medication without taking one's blood pressure.
In my experience in treating sleep apnea and providing alternatives to CPAP machines, the majority of patients think they only snore, whereas we have found the large majority of these patient's actually have sleep apnea. To simply place an appliance that reduces snoring without assessing how it treats the apnea is dangerous as it neglects the health aspect of the patient.
The proper way to treat snoring/sleep apnea is to have a sleep study to assess the risk. This can be done in the sleep lab or with an ambulatory monitor. For those who are candidates for dental sleep appliances, the dentist should have ambulatory monitors that will allow them to adjust these appliances to control the apnea.
If you have any questions regarding dental sleep appliances or TMJ pain, please call our office,
Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD, LVIF, a Houston Sleep Dentist and Houston TMJ Dentist.
713-668-2289
posted by
Ron Konig
at
6:22 AM
Ronald W. Konig, DDS 713-668-2289
Konig Center for Cosmetic & Comprehensive Dentistry
2201 West Holcombe, Suite 300, Houston, TX 77030
Previous Posts
- TMJ Pain Relief
- The Art of Bonding Teeth to Close Spaces
- Eliminating Gummy Smiles Painlessly with Lasers
- Better Understanding and Treating TMJ Problems
- TAKE YOUR GAME TO A NEW LEVEL
- HYDROFLOSS: High Tech Home Dental Care
- Amazing Implant Dentures
- ADVANCED MICROSONIC DENTAL TECHNOLOGY TO CLEAN TEE...
- Eliminating the Numb Feeling: Hi Tech Dentistry
- Bonding: The Conservative Cosmetic Dentistry Treat...
<< Home