Medicare Accepted for Oral Appliance Therapy
Sleep apnea can interfere with your sleep, which can interfere with the rest of your life. Not only that, but it can also be dangerous to your health. It can increase your risk of heart problems and high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and liver problems – not to mention the danger of being sleep deprived while trying to drive and perform other activities. If you think you may have sleep apnea, oral appliance therapy can help.
What is sleep apnea?
Patients with sleep apnea have problems breathing while they are asleep. Breathing can be labored or even stop for up to a minute at a time, causing the patient to gasp for air. Sleep apnea can cause loud snoring, a dry mouth when awake, headaches, irritability, and difficulty staying awake during the day.
People who smoke, are overweight, or have nasal congestion are at increased risk of sleep apnea. Older adults and men are also more likely to have this condition, as are people with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, congestive heart failure, asthma, or Parkinson disease.
How can sleep apnea be treated?
A common treatment for sleep apnea is a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, which helps to get air into the patient’s airway during sleep. However, many people find CPAP machines uncomfortable – having a bulky mask on all night can certainly interfere with a peaceful night’s sleep. There is another option, though: oral appliances to treat sleep apnea are an excellent alternative to CPAP.
An oral appliance, such as a mouth guard, is comfortable, convenient, and noninvasive. Patients are much more likely to continue to use an oral appliance, in contrast to CPAP, which many people give up on, to the detriment of their sleep and their health.
At eos dental sleep in Philadelphia, Dr. Marc Levin is a specialist in oral appliances to help with sleep apnea. And, he is a Medicare-approved provider for oral appliance therapy. If you have been diagnosed with sleep apnea, or if you are tired of your CPAP, an oral appliance may be the answer. Call (215) 241-0700 for an appointment to discuss oral appliance therapy!