Oral Sleep Appliances

Just sharing my experience on this. Was diagnosed at a sleep clinic with extremely severe sleep apnea. Fortunately, my dentist noticed it when I fell asleep while he was drilling (no Novocain). Tried CPAP and then decided a professional oral appliance was worth a try. Went with Somnomed. Required special molds by the same dentist, etc. Not inexpensive. But, changed my life. Had dreams for the first time in years, so making it into deep sleep. At one point, the appliance broke and I sent it back for repair. Two weeks of no sleep. I now have two appliances, because I won't go through that again.

That is great! Some of us are in a managed care HMO insurance setting and I can't imagine my carrier OKing an expensive oral appliance if the CPAP therapy is effective. It would certainly be a lot more convenient than the machine/mask. Good luck! Take a second and describe how an appliance could break. I had assumed (ouch) that an appliance would be a rubber or vinyl construction.

I might be looking into this and surgery. When I open my mouth, you can't see my tonsils. My tongue almost completely covers my throat. That can be helped with surgery. I wish we could all use a dental appliance and feel better. But it's not always that easy. Good luck with continued success.