Oral Appliance Therapy is an effective option for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. It is an oral appliance that holds your lower jaw in a forward position throughout the night, to help maintain an open airway so you can breathe better while you sleep.
How Does Oral Appliance Therapy Work?
The first thing is to schedule a consultation appointment with Dr. Fisch. She will be happy to answer all of your questions and give insight into this comfortable treatment option.
From there she will do a thorough examination of your mouth, teeth and associated structures. Then, with cutting edge technology, she will scan your teeth and bite, then send it digitally to the lab for fabrication of your custom appliance.
Your appliance will be created in the lab and sent back to us. It will fit comfortably in your mouth and will be significantly more discreet than CPAP! There are a variety of appliance designs that Dr. Fisch will review with you so that we chose an appliance that will work best for you.
The appliance works by holding your lower jaw in a forward position to help keep your airway open while you sleep. This process brings the tongue forward and helps to keep it from blocking your airway. It's such a simple, natural fix and is incomparably more convenient than the challenges of CPAP.
Simply wear the small, custom device while you sleep, and breathe easy!
How Do I Start Oral Appliance Therapy?
You will first need to speak to your physician or dentist about obtaining a sleep study. Once that is completed, the sleep physician will make a diagnosis based on the information obtained from the study. The sleep physician will make a recommendation for treatment of your obstructive sleep apnea based on the severity of your condition.
If your results are in the mild category, you could be referred to our office for oral appliance therapy. If there are issues that would prevent the use of CPAP, or you become intolerant to CPAP, you would be referred as well.
If you are unsure about getting started with treatment for your OSA, call our office and we will help you with the process.
Paying for Oral Appliance Therapy and Insurances We Take
While regular dental services are billed under dental insurance, oral appliance therapy for obstructive sleep apnea is billed under medical insurance. This means you don't have to have dental insurance to get this treatment. And, most medical insurances cover oral appliance therapy, after a diagnosis and determination of medical necessity by a sleep physician.
Some medical insurance companies require a trial of CPAP first, no matter the severity of the patient's apnea. Thankfully, these companies are the minority.
We also work with Medicaid and Medicare.
Where Can I Get Oral Appliance Therapy In Vermont?
Green Mountain Dental Sleep Center is pleased to offer oral appliance therapy to patients in Vermont! We are the only dental sleep medicine center in the lower half of the state that focuses on this type of therapy, works with sleep physicians, and submits to medical insurance. No more driving two hours to get specialized care.
Questions?
Have questions? Wondering if you're a good candidate
for oral appliance therapy? We're here to help!