I need to get in for a sleep study in a bad way but was thinking about trying one in the meantime. Anyone using one? If so, what brand and does it work?
Thanks
Thanks
I've been using a snore guard (Silent Nite brand) for the past two decades and it worked (works) wonders for me. It has separate upper and lower appliances that have a link between them on each side that forces the lower jaw forward, clearing the air passage. As your jaw drops, it opens the air passage more. It "cured" my sleep apnea.
The "fixed" units might work as well, but that is something you'll have to try out for yourself.
Woody
The "fixed" units might work as well, but that is something you'll have to try out for yourself.
Woody
Thank you! I've also been wanting to try this, as I have sleep apnea and my health insurance sucks bad enough (thanks, Obama) that a sleep study will cost me more than having my dentist make me a "professional" appliance, and paying for it out of pocket.
This is an area that I deal with in my practice all the time.
If you are going to have one made by a dentist, make sure he knows what he is doing. Most (I hate to say it) don't.
For a dental appliance to be effective, it has to be adjustable and custom fitted to you.
Boil and Bite appliances have been shown over and over to be not effective. Incorrectly adjusted appliances are not effective.
Sleep Studies can be done in a lab setting or in the home setting. Home sleep studies are less expensive and generally as reliable.
Many health insurances will cover sleep studies and oral devices if the correct codes are used and everything is preauthorized. This is another area where your dentist really needs to know what they are doing. And has to be able to talk to the insurance company doc with authority if needed.
Dave
If you are going to have one made by a dentist, make sure he knows what he is doing. Most (I hate to say it) don't.
For a dental appliance to be effective, it has to be adjustable and custom fitted to you.
Boil and Bite appliances have been shown over and over to be not effective. Incorrectly adjusted appliances are not effective.
Sleep Studies can be done in a lab setting or in the home setting. Home sleep studies are less expensive and generally as reliable.
Many health insurances will cover sleep studies and oral devices if the correct codes are used and everything is preauthorized. This is another area where your dentist really needs to know what they are doing. And has to be able to talk to the insurance company doc with authority if needed.
Dave
Dave, thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear there are home study options. I don't hardly sleep at all if i'm not in my own bed.
My wife is a nurse and I'm sad to say that we don't have a regular family doctor! We are healthy and don't need a doctor very often. So, can my dentist
refer me for a sleep study?
My wife is a nurse and I'm sad to say that we don't have a regular family doctor! We are healthy and don't need a doctor very often. So, can my dentist
refer me for a sleep study?
I have sleep apnea as well and have found appliances on EBay that the seller will send the buyer a kit with a mold (sp) that he can form fit and return for the mouthpiece. A mouth guard at a dentist can be pretty costly ~$300.00 but you can get one on EBay for I think around $50.
$300?!? My dentist quoted $1500!
The above mentioned dentist sent me home a year or so ago with the machine, and told me that my O2 levels didn't drop to dangerous levels, and that I'm likely obstructive and not central. I'd like to have an appliance made if it would for sure help, as paying $1700 for a sleep study (that's my fantastic insurance w/deductible) is asinine, and I sleep so light I can't see a CPAP not waking me more than the condition. I haven't had a good nights sleep in 20 years.
I'm doing an in home sleep study monday and tuesday night. I have good insurance, thankfully, and will only cost me $100. I'm only 31 years old, relatively healthy, and just a tad overweight....by a tad, i mean, i got a beer belly that you won't notice, until i'm swimming or mowing without a shirt, but I can wake the neighbors when I snore. We have a baby coming in a few weeks and I need to try and get it under control or my wife may kill me. I am wayyyyyyy too young to be using a damn CPAP machine so i'm hoping there are other options I can utilize when they almost certianly diagnose me with sleep apnea. I just can't see them doing a sleep study and not saying "yep, you got it" LOL
Your dentist can order a sleep study at a lab. IF he knows what he is doing.
Your dentist CAN NOT diagnose you with sleep apnea and treat you for it. The diagnosis MUST be made by a MD.
Home sleep studies can be done by dispensing the equipment at the dental office. Your medical insurance may or may not cover the home study. Even if it is ordered by an MD. Not being able to sleep in strange surroundings is fairly common and seen frequently in the sleep arena. Actually have a name for it: First Night Syndrome.
There is a lot of treatment that your dentist can give you, but (and I can't say this enough) he really needs to know what he is doing and not just treating you off of some weekend CE course. There is a lot of training and study involved to do this stuff correctly.
Dave
I have to wonder, would you buy a replacement heart valve on ebay?
Sleep Apnea can and WILL kill you. Plain and simple. Just look up Reggie White and James Gandolfini to name a few.
300 bucks is a steal if it is from someone who knows what they are doing. And I can tell you that a 300 dollar appliance from a dental office is from someone who has no clue as to what they are doing. There is not a single recommended and/or recognized appliance in the dental field that even has a lab cost of $300 dollars.
The mouth pieces that are "boil and bite" and self made simply do not work and can actually make the condition worse.
Dave
