Why Choose CPAP?
CPAP is an acronym that stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. The CPAP machine is designed specifically to help sleep apnea patients breathe and maintain good blood oxygen levels throughout the night. This type of therapy treats the condition, or “apneas,” whereby breathing is interrupted during sleep, raising blood pressure, and causing a person to snore.
CPAPs do work, yet many patients aren’t comfortable using them. At Wes Yemoto Esthetic & Holistic Dentistry, we provide alternatives to the CPAP mask. We’ve found that with CPAP therapy machines, our patients let us know that the bulkiness, air pressure, and loud noise impedes getting a good night’s sleep.
Wouldn’t life be more enjoyable if you had a sleep apnea treatment that is not only affordable and convenient, but contributes to your overall health as well?
Oral Appliances & Their Benefits
Sleep apnea oral appliances have specific features that are unmatched. The key in choosing an oral device is maximum comfort and accommodation for full breathing. Each type of mandibular snoring appliance is designed to be more convenient for easy cleaning, as well as more user-friendly.
These mobile oral appliances are custom-fitted to the shape of your teeth and jaw. They are small, portable, and more comfortable to wear than a CPAP. How they work depends on which one you choose. Their primary purpose is to gently move the jaw forward while you sleep, to allow the muscles to ease in the back of the throat. This gives the patient a return to gentle breathing.
At Dr. Yemoto Esthetic & Holistic Dentistry, our method begins with performing cosmetic laser treatment for the back of the throat. This procedure allows the patient to have the ability to produce more collagen. By doing so, and ridding the inside mouth of wrinkles, laser treatment helps to firm up the tissue in the soft palate and throat.
Dr. Yemoto performs this treatment prior to customizing an oral appliance. He believes that stronger collagen leads to more positive airway breathing. Given the extensive degree of our customization, we’ve noticed an increase in success for our sleep apnea patients using oral appliances versus CPAP therapy.
Healthy Alternatives to CPAP
Helping alleviate the symptoms of sleep apnea can often come down to lifestyle choices. Whichever type of device you are most comfortable being treated with, making certain healthy lifestyle changes can help minimize the effects of sleep apnea even further.
One risk factor in sleep apnea that may not be entirely glaring is your weight. Weight plays a role in sleep apnea. Therefore, daily exercise and weight loss can definitely help alleviate the sleeping disorder, depending on the patient. If you smoke, quitting smoking can make a large impact on helping your sleep apnea. Likewise, reducing consumption of alcohol and the use of sleeping pills, as well as other sedatives, can restore your sound slumber.
