What Is the Best Treatment for Sleep Apnea Q&A

The first thing you should do is decide to get professional help for your sleep apnea. It’s important to address the condition properly, as it can lead to behavioral disorders in children or serious health problems in adults, like heart disease, stroke, or diabetes. A sleep apnea doctor like one of ours here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders can help you by identifying the cause of your case of sleep apnea and finding the right treatment for you. We can provide continual care should you need it.

Losing weight can help many patients with sleep apnea, but even weight loss is done best under the guidance of a professional. CPAP therapy may help you a great deal, but there may be a better option for you.

CPAP therapy is a common treatment for sleep apnea. The therapy uses a CPAP machine a patient uses at night during sleep. The machine works by delivering a steady stream of air into the patient’s airway so the patient can breathe more easily. While CPAP therapy works for many people, many others struggle with it because the machine is big, bulky, and loud, as well as uncomfortable for many patients to use because they have to wear a mask or nose piece while sleeping. Many patients prefer oral appliance therapy instead, and it may work better for their particular cases.

Oral appliance therapy uses a simple mouthpiece to prevent the conditions that cause sleep apnea in the first place. The appliance itself helps the jaw, tongue, and airway rest naturally to prevent sleep apnea and help the patient sleep soundly. The appliance is custom-made for a patient’s oral anatomy, so it’s very comfortable, and it’s easy to use and manage too, so patients don’t have a problem with it like they may with CPAP therapy.

Oral appliance therapy works very well for many patient cases. Actually, the therapy is a proven method that’s approved by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine! In about three months of the therapy, many patients will be 90% symptom-free, and you could be one of these patients.

Oral appliance therapy is the best treatment for sleep apnea caused by TMJ disorder. Since the therapy corrects the positioning of the jaw and tongue, they can’t obstruct the airway anymore, and this often fixes sleep apnea entirely.

Sleep apnea treatment with CPAP therapy can be expensive when you add up all the costs involved like the CPAP mask that has to be replaced every 3 months. Oral appliance therapy is often more cost-effective. Both CPAP therapy and oral appliance therapy are typically covered by insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. There’s an especially high chance your insurance will cover oral appliance therapy if you’ve already tried CPAP therapy, your insurance covered it, and it didn’t work for you. Contact our clinic to learn more about the costs of sleep apnea treatment.

You can get treatment right here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders! We have locations throughout Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin, so please see our Locations page for the location nearest you and its address and contact information. Give that location a call or call our main office at (855) 977-0400 if you want to learn more about sleep apnea treatment or to book a consultation with us!

We look forward to hearing from and helping you soon here at Koala® Center For Sleep & TMJ Disorders!