Hello,
I was diagnosed with OSA about 6-7 years ago and began using a CPAP. I didn't like it however, and started looking into oral devices. After meeting with a specialist, I learned my OSA was due to poor jaw/teeth alignment and that I'd be ideal for such a device. When I got the device, I found it worked wonderfully, but there is just one problem - it keeps breaking due to teeth grinding. Within the past year, it has broken 5 times and had to be replaced entirely once. My specialist has made additional efforts in the office to reinforce it, but nothing seems to work. Over the past year since I started using the appliance, I've gone without it for nearly half the time while it's been getting reworked and repaired.
I have no stress in my life that could be causing this, but my dentist first noticed the effects of teeth grinding when I was a teenager (I'm 46 now). And while my sleep specialist was informed of my bruxism from the start, he didn't believe it to be a cause for concern, but of course now realizes that it is. He and his assistants tell me they've never seen anything like this.
I've read that bruxism can be caused by sleep apnea. But this doesn't seem to be the case with me. I've sleep tested with very good results while using the device - low number of incidents, no snoring and everything looks good. So if the device is correcting my OSA, then the bruxism cannot be caused by the OSA or the device wouldn't be breaking from the stress of grinding....? I've also read (somewhat to the contrary of the first theory), that a misaligned jaw and teeth can actually induce grinding while also being the source of OSA problems. According to this view, teeth grinding is a result of your brain trying to find the proper resting place for the jaw - except it can't due to misalignment, and the result is grinding teeth. If this theory is correct and applicable to me, then it seems an oral device that creates more separation between upper and lower teeth might actually exacerbate a bruxism problem, inducing more force and stress on the device and causing breakage. Am I onto something, here?
I'm not sure where to go from this point and am looking for some professional feedback on my situation. Right now, I'm back on CPAP until this gets sorted out and I don't like it. Where to go from here?
Thanks
