Sleep Apnea
Serving Phoenix, Scottsdale, Peoria, and Glendale, Arizona
The Thornton Adjustable Positioner (TAP)
The Thornton Adjustable Positioner (TAP) oral appliance is a mandibular advancement device composed of two separate arches (maxillary and mandibular) containing an advancing mechanism which permits unlimited advancement of the lower jaw. It is the ONLY appliance that allows adjustments made while patient is sleeping by the spouse or while a sleep test is ongoing. The arches are custom fit to a patients models. The advancing mechanism is engaged and the screw mechanism in the upper tray is then turned to advance the mandible until the patient begins to feel any discomfort in the temporomandibular joint or in the facial muscles (maximum mechanical protrusion which is an average of 2.Smm beyond maximum protrusion). The advancing screw is then turned back until patient is comfortable.
This makes it the most effective treatment for sleep apnea!
Herbst, Herbst Telescopic and SAUD Appliance
The Herbst Appliance has been proven to be effective on chronic snoring and mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea sufferers. This appliance allows patients to move laterally and vertically without disengaging the appliance. Also, if it is determined that the initial position does not provide the anticipated relief of the condition, the mandible can easily be moved forward by two options of adjustability. The Herbst is traditional hardware with sets of 1.2 and 3 mm shims for advancing those increments only. The Herbst Telescopic version allows the clinician to advance in .1 mm increments by making one full turn of the pmtrusion collar up to 6-8 mm from the start position. The
appliance can be fabricated hard acrylic, thermoactive and soft materials and is tooth retained via friction gnp or clasps. The more robust SAUD version is made for the heavy grinder that might break other appliances.
Somno Med
The SomnoMed MAS is a custom-made device consisting of upper and lower dental plates with a unique patented fin-coupling component, which allows normal mouth opening and closing. If required, a part can be added to make the device adjustable. This feature provides incremental and adjustable levels of lower jaw advancement which improves the effectiveness and comfort-level of treatment. The jaw is moved only as far as is required to alleviate snoring and reduce OSA.
Tongue Retaining Device (TRD)
The TRD is lab constructed of a flexible polyvinyl material adapted to the general contours of the teeth and dental arches. It does not depend on teeth for retention. Rather, the tongue is held forward by the negative pressure created in the vacuum bulb on the front of the appliance.
MOSES ORAL APPLIANCE
A recent addition to our options for treating sleep apnea and snoring is the Moses Appliance. Research has shown it to be effective to prevent or significantly reduce obstructive sleep apnea and snoring. It is comfortable to wear encouraging patient compliance and the open anterior facilitates tongue protrusion to the lips. It increases volume of space for the tongue so it is less likely to collapse on the airway, positioning it in the roof of the mouth. It helps to prevent bruxism and decreases muscle activity in clenching compared to a normal bite position.
The appliance is adjustable for advancing the lower jaw and is very durable. It comes with a two year guarantee from Modern Dental Lab. The patient is able to talk or drink with appliance in place and can easily open and close jaws with appliance in mouth. There are no retentive wire clasps to prevent movement of teeth and support nasal breathing and oral breathing if necessary. Patients are able to sleep with lips closed comfortably.
Oasys Sleep Appliance
Oasys Appliance has a built in nasal dilation so it works in a similar manner to Breathe Right Strips. The Oasys Oral/Nasal Airway System is the fist dental device to be reviewed by both the dental and ENT divisions of the FDA and to be approved as a dental device for treatment of snoring and sleep apnea through mandibular repositioning,
and also as a nasal dilator for reduction of nasal resistance and improved nasal breathing.
Sleep Apnea and Your Health
Garden hose analogy of airway
Normal= Normal breathing can be compared to water coming unimpeded
out of a garden hose. There is a large flow of water with
no disruption of the flow. Normal breathing
would be no disruption of air flow (snoring), and air
moves quietly.
Simple Snoring=Simple snoring is a minimal disruption in the air flow. It is like taking your thumb and covering the opening of the hose slightly. There is a disruption in air flow and an increase in velocity.
When looking at air flow this would be sound waves from the
disruption but almost the same amount of total flow. To
put this in perspective, according to the
Journal of The American Medical Association (JAMA), people who
snore have three times as many motor
vehicle accidents as non-snorers.
RERA=
Respiratory Effort
Related Arousal
UARS= Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome
This picture shows the garden hose partially blocked. There is a significant drop in total flow and the agitation is significant. With air-flow this would translate into decreased air flow. This may be called RERA for respiratory effort related arousal or snore arousal, or UARS for upper airway resistance syndrome. This translates into working harder to breathe, having awakenings due to the effort to breathe, but still breathing an adequate amount of air. Snoring is loud and often disruptive.
Hypopnea= Hypopnea is represented by the hose where there is minimal
flow but significant agitation. In breathing this would be snoring
without complete blockage. There are awakenings as well
as significant drops in oxygen levels in the blood.
Obstructive Apnea=Obstructive apnea is represented by the kinking of the hose,
showing no water flow. In the case of breathing there would
be a total collapse of the airway followed by the patient waking
and gasping for breath. There is significant drops in oxygen
levels and greater strain on the heart and other organ systems. CENTRAL APNEA IS LIKE THE FAUCET BEING TURNED OFF. There is no effort to breathe, no snoring but significant
awakening and drops in oxygen.
If you would like more information on how to alleviate or eliminate symptoms from snoring or sleep apnea, contact Phoenix Cosmetic Dentist, Dr. Wilcox today! Set up a free evaluation with Desert Smiles in Scottsdale, Glendale, or Phoenix today.
602.734.0050
18275 N 59th Ave Bldg C, Ste 114
Glendale, AZ 85308
602.734.0050
