Sleep Apnea

• If you are concerned that you or your partner’s snoring may be more than the occasional nighttime disturbance, or if you are frequently feeling excessively fatigued during the day, consult your physician or your dentist.
• Explain your concern and express that you would like to be evaluated for sleep apnea.

• Only board-certified sleep physicians -- as opposed to your primary care physician or dentist - can issue a formal diagnosis of sleep apnea. However, a primary care physician or dentist should be able to consider your symptoms and advise you whether your odds of having sleep apnea are high. If your family doctor or dentist determines that you may indeed suffer from sleep apnea, they can refer you for a formal diagnosed.
• In order to make the diagnosis, sleep physicians must collect data on your sleep activity. To acquire this data for a potential diagnosis, they can give full evaluations of your symptoms in several ways including:
  • Admittance to a sleep center for an overnight evaluation
  • A self-administered at-home sleep apnea test
• After you are tested, if you are diagnosed with sleep apnea, your sleep physician will provide you with information including the severity of your condition. They will diagnosis you as having either, “mild,” “moderate,” or, “severe” obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

• Research shows that the use of oral appliances for the treatment of mild to moderate sleep apnea and snoring is effective and most patients find an oral appliance to be a comfortable and convenient option for the treatment of their apnea. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends use of an oral appliance for cases of “mild” and “moderate” OSA.
• For patients with “severe” OSA who cannot comply with use of a Continuous Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine, Oral Appliances may be recommended as an alternative.
• An oral appliance is fitted and monitored by dentists and/or oral surgeons; the appliances help you maintain an open upper airway during sleep
• Oral appliances are to be worn at night, have a similar fit to a sports mouth guard or orthodontic appliance, are portable and require low maintenance care
• If you are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, oral appliance therapy is covered by many medical insurance plans.
• MAD-FIT^TM, APP-NEA^TM LLC's flagship product, bypasses the trial and error in fitting oral appliances, making it easier for dentists to get the right fit the first time. To learn more about finding an APP-NEA^TM certified dentist click here.

Note: If you choose a dentist who has received training and is certified by App-Nea^TM, LLC, you will be able to choose a MAD-FIT^TM dentist, which will allow you to avoid the time-consuming and inconvenient “trial-and-error” fitting procedure typical of other oral appliances.

• If you are diagnosed with “severe” obstructive sleep apnea you may be advised to use a Continuous Airway Pressure, or CPAP, machine
• Talk to your doctor about what the best course of treatment is for you. Although CPAPs are the standard practice for the treatment of “severe” OSA, they may not be readily tolerated by all patients
• If you are unable to tolerate a CPAP, an oral appliance becomes your second line of defense, which is a better option than letting your apnea go untreated.

There are a number of behavioral and lifestyle changes you can consider when trying to lessen the symptoms of your sleep apnea and snoring. These include:

• Losing weight
• Avoiding alcohol and smoking
• Sleeping on your side

No matter what your diagnosis ends up being and what treatment option you choose, we recommend that you make these life changes, regardless!