Sleep Apnea Appliances Corpus Christi

There are a number of sleep apnea appliances available on the market today. They are alternatives to CPAP machines. CPAP is a great option for some patients, but roughly half of all patients say that sleeping with the mask and blowing air in their faces make it too uncomfortable to sleep. Others have a problem with the whirring sound of the air pump in the machine. For these patients, oral sleep apnea appliances are a good and often more effective alternative.

Some sleep apnea appliances focus on being anti-snoring appliances, but purport to help sleep apnea too, such as this no-name appliance on Amazon for $42.50. But as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for." These generic appliances, even name-brand appliances that you can buy from the store, aren’t customized for you and so won’t improve the neuromuscular balance of your bite. These sleep apnea appliances are dangerous in that they can mask the sleep apnea by taking care of the snoring, but the unknowing apneic person is still slowly suffocating to death every night. Untrained dentists who use these sleep apnea appliances actually contribute the the problem by treating the patient inappropriately.

The sleep apnea appliances that Dr. Lowrance offers are made uniquely for each individual after measuring your bite and identifying the optimal position for your TMJ to rest in that will keep your airway open, by moving your jaw and tongue forward. These sleep apnea appliances also treat snoring in the same way and reduce or eliminate snoring altogether.

There are half a dozen or so sleep apnea appliances on the market that Dr. Lowrance recommends to different patients based on their problems and unique needs. A good sleep apnea dentist will utilize a variety of appliances in his practice because patients are so different from one another. Here are some of the sleep apnea devices that are available and their differences.

To discuss which type of sleep apnea appliance is right for you, contact Dr. Don Lowrance, a Corpus Christi sleep apnea dentist. Call today to schedule your consultation.