How Do Sleep Apnea Mouthpieces Work?

Studies tell us that 70 million adults in the United States have some sort of sleeping disorder, and 25 million of those living with a sleeping disorder have sleep apnea. So, if you’re constantly waking up yourself or your partner with loud snoring, it might be more than just annoying. It could be obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious sleep disorder that’s characterized by explosive snoring, gasping, and grunting. It happens due to a tissue obstruction at the back of your throat that temporarily blocks your airways and leads to pauses in breathing. Your body then wakes you up to resume breathing, and it can lead to lots of poor quality sleep and daytime fatigue.

While the most effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) — a bedside machine that blows air through a mask to keep your airways open — people with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea typically prefer an alternative. 

Dental devices such as a mandibular advancement device (MAD) is a great option for treating sleep apnea and is much less challenging to use than a CPAP machine. 

At Remedy Clinic in Gulfport, Mississippi, Andrea B. Elenbaas, DMD, MS and the rest of our dental sleep medicine team offer MADs in order to keep your airways safely open and help you be comfortable while you get a good night’s sleep. In this blog, we review what you need to know about these dental devices.

What is an MAD?

An MAD is an alternative treatment method to address symptoms of mild sleep apnea. 

It’s a custom-made dental device made of hard plastic that snaps over your upper and lower teeth in order to temporarily move your tongue and jaw forward. By moving your tongue and jaw forward, it creates more airway space and reduces both snoring and pauses in your breathing while you sleep.

Benefits of using an MAD

While using an MAD doesn’t cure sleep apnea, it can reduce symptoms such as snoring and waking up lots of times during the night. By addressing these sleep issues, it should help you get a lot more quality sleep and help you not feel so tired during the day. 

In addition, studies tell us that many people don’t keep up with the CPAP machine treatment due to the fact that it’s loud, uncomfortable, and hard to transport. And while CPAP is a much more effective treatment, an MAD is much more user friendly.

Is an MAD right for you?

MADs are extremely beneficial since they address snoring and breathing pauses due to sleep apnea in an efficient and cost-effective way. However, if you have severe sleep apnea or central sleep apnea, a dental device may not be right for you.

If you suspect that you have sleep apnea and would like to discuss treatment options, look no further than our expert dental sleep medicine team at Remedy Clinic. To schedule an appointment with us, simply call our office at 228-432-6194 or book online.