Sleep Medicine and Dentistry

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by short pauses in breathing during sleep. These pauses in breathing (called apneas) can last for 10 to 30 seconds, maybe longer.

According to the Canadian Lung Association people who suffer from OSA can stop breathing from dozens to hundreds of times each night.

The primary treatment option for patients with OSA is Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), in which a computer-controlled air flow generator provides pressurized air through a mask to prevent upper airway collapse.

Other treatment options include behavioral treatments such as weight loss exercise, positional therapy and avoidance of alcohol and sedatives before bedtime and surgical therapy. Oral appliances to realign the oral cavity are prescribed for patients with mild to moderate OSA who prefer oral appliances to CPAP, or who do not respond to CPAP or are not appropriate candidates for CPAP; or who fail CPAP or behavioral measures such as weight loss or sleep position change.

In fact the American Academy of sleep medicine has designated dental sleep oral appliances as the number one nonsurgical alternative for the CPAP intolerant.