Oral Sleep Apnea Device

My kids and I go camping along the Appalachian Trail a couple of times each year. We go with two of my best friends and their kids, hiking a few miles and then camping overnight with a big fire, spooky stories, tents, etc.   A few trips ago, one of the little girls in the group woke up in the morning and asked if we heard the bear in our camp the night before! It was then that one of my friends, who happens to be a neurologist and runs a sleep study center, informed us all that it was not a bear… just me snoring! 

Well, I’ve known for a long time that I snore at night. But since my wife can sleep through anything (really!), it was never a problem in my house.  But my friend the neurologist informed me that I also stopped breathing… several times… and for long periods of time. He suggested (no… insisted) that I come in for a sleep study to determine if I needed a CPAP machine to sleep properly.  Being ever the skeptic, I simply took home my own pulse oxymeter (which measures the concentration of oxygen in your blood through a finger) and set it up to record while I slept.  Now it’s an important detail to know that we have played with this little machine in the office, and no matter how long someone holds their breath they can never get the reading below 90%.  So that night I set the machine to only record a reading any time it went below 90.  Much to my surprise, it recorded so many “events” that it ran out of paper!  Sometimes it went into the low 80’s, which is very dangerous, and can lead to cardiac arrest!

So by now I was a believer. But the last thing I wanted to do was wear a scuba mask (CPAP) to bed every night. That’s how I became interested in oral sleep apnea devices (aka: snore guards). As soon as I researched the best devices on the market I had one made for myself, and have been wearing it ever since. It resembles a simple mouthguard, about the size of a sports mouth protector.  It works so well I have noticeably better sleep, feel more rested in the morning, sleep completely through the night, and I barely snore at all anymore.  My oxygen saturation is normal now also… all night long.  And recently a new and improved model came out that promised to be even better!  I have just sent my own models off to the lab to have one fabricated for myself.

Oral sleep apnea devices are appropriate for mild and moderate sleep apnea (a sleep study will determine that), or people with severe apnea who cannot wear a CPAP machine.  Men and women are equally at risk, and respond equally as well.  If you, or someone you love, snores or has documented sleep apnea, you might be a candidate for an oral sleep apnea device.  Give Norge Dental Center a call to get more information or schedule an appointment.  We would love to help you sleep better at night!

Tim Johnston

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