Sleep Apnea Treatments in Washington, D.C.

Sleep apnea is recognized as persistent pauses in breathing during sleep. This is the result of your muscles relaxing and gravity pulling your airway closed. The short-term suffocation that results produces excessive stress on the body, which can result in cardiovascular conditions, such as memory loss, mood change, weight gain, fatigue, and hypertension. There are many snoring or sleep apnea alternatives to go with, ranging from airway surgeries, like a tonsillectomy, adenoidectomy, or maxillofacial surgery to the use of a CPAP machine. Sometimes people are not happy with those solutions. In such instances, they might turn to dental choices to help address the problem. At Ingber Dental in Washington, D.C., we focus on creating customized night guards to help our sleep apnea patients. Dr. Kenneth Ingber and his team of dental professionals are proud to provide this simple, comfortable, and reliable service to help you achieve better health and wellness.

Patients who suffer from severe sleep apnea are not great candidates for a dental-based solution. In such instances, a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine might be one of the best options. However, if you have a mild to moderate snoring problem, a dental remedy may be just what you need. Sleep apnea may be dangerous since it keeps you from breathing normally hundreds of times every night when the tissues in your throat and soft palate collapse. When this happens, your airway is blocked, keeping oxygen from reaching your organs or brain. So needless to say, it is vital to get it properly diagnosed and treated with the best solutions.

Sleep apnea treatment at Ingber Dental utilizes what is referred to as oral appliance therapy (OAT), which can be quite an effective therapy for sleep apnea. It is a custom-made device that fits in your mouth at night. It can be compared to a mouth guard for sporting events or a retainer. The most important difference is that instead of guarding your teeth against harm, it gently pulls the jaw into a forward position to keep your airway open. There are more than a hundred distinct models on the market so our team will work with you to make sure you get the right one. This may be determined after an assessment of your jaw, tongue, airway, and teeth is conducted. You will also have digital x-rays taken so that we are able to make impressions of your teeth for your oral appliance.

Once your dental appliance has been created at a high-tech dental lab, you will return to our office for a fitting. Ingber Dental will contact you to set up a follow-up appointment. Your appliance will be adjusted according to your requirements to get it as comfortable as possible. We will make sure to allow ample time to help you learn about your new sleep apnea device, including how to clean, store, and maintain it. Additionally, we will want you to bring your mouthpiece to checkups or come back every year to watch for wear and tear. Your quality of life should dramatically improve if you follow our instructions properly.

Dental insurance policies for sleep apnea treatments can vary so we will contact your dental insurance carrier to help us calculate any out-of-pocket costs. Whether you have dental insurance or not, we will provide you with cost estimates while talking about your treatment options. To make your dental treatments as affordable as possible, Ingber Dental accepts several payment methods and may be able to help you find low-interest medical financing.

If your breathing was interrupted hundreds of times every day from your airway being blocked, you would look for help right away. However, when the same thing happens in your sleep, it may be all too easy to put off as you will not remember it when you wake up. If you believe you may be suffering from sleep apnea, we invite you to schedule a consultation at Ingber Dental at your earliest convenience.