Obstructive sleep apnea, sometimes called OSA, is a sleeping disorder that impacts a patient’s overall health. For one reason or another, the patient experiences a blockage in their airway, sometimes hundreds of times in one night, that keeps them from breathing while they are sleeping. This condition is called obstructive sleep apnea. As a result, the patient feels tired the next day due to the interruption in sleep cycles throughout the night, not allowing them to reach the restorative sleep stage they need to feel their best every day. Greg G. Pitts DDS of American Fork, Utah, provides oral appliances for patients who have sleep apnea and snoring conditions.
How is sleep apnea addressed with an oral appliance?
Oral appliance therapy is a popular option for patients who have obstructive sleep apnea and want to eliminate the use of a bulky CPAP machine recommended by their primary care physician. While the CPAP machine is effective at treating obstructive sleep apnea, it is also an uncomfortable device that patients wear while they sleep. It is hard to travel with and often patients complain that the hoses restrict their movement and the mask that covers their mouth and nose makes them feel very claustrophobic. Instead, a dentist such as Greg G. Pitts DDS may recommend the use of an oral appliance for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea symptoms.
Oral appliance therapy is the use of an appliance to open the airways to allow better airflow through the nose and mouth to the lungs. This eliminates the oxygen deprivation that can occur when you sleep due to partial or completely blocked airways. It is often a result of the tongue relaxing and blocking the airway or the soft palate creating a barrier. With an oral appliance, the airways are kept open with a comfortable appliance worn while patients sleep. Patients can then get the amount of sleep they need each night to function better the next day.
Greg G. Pitts DDS uses the advanced therapeutic and non-evasive, Vivos System to treat sleep apnea, snoring and sleep disordered breathing in adults.
Call Greg G. Pitts DDS today!
If you are curious about the treatment of sleep apnea with a dental snoring device or OSA appliance, contact the practice of Greg G. Pitts DDS by calling (801) 758-0019. Our practice located at 9 North 1100 East in American Fork, UT, is open to new and existing patients interested in general, cosmetic, or restorative dentistry for themselves or their family members.
