One of the main goals at Litchfield Dental Care is to provide patients with the most conservative treatment possible in every situation. The team offers oral appliances, like night guards, sleep apnea guards, snore guards, and mouth guards, providing simple and non-invasive care for various conditions. Regardless of the application, every appliance the team prescribes is custom-crafted for you with excellent fit and function. Call the Litchfield Park, Arizona, office to schedule a consultation or book one online today.
request an appointmentWhat are oral appliances?
At Litchfield Dental Care, the team might use oral appliances designed on models of your teeth to fit on either upper or lower teeth or both at the same time.
Appliance therapy may aid treatment when treating nighttime sleep grinding, diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea, bite problems, or jaw joint disorders. The team of experts employs a variety of innovative designs depending on treatment goals and your preferences.
Are there different types of oral appliances?
Oral appliances can include sleep apnea guards, night guards, snore guards, and mouth guards.
The most common form of a removable dental appliance is dentures.
What are oral appliances used for?
The Litchfield Dental Care team might recommend oral appliances for the following:
Sleep Apnea
The team is concerned about patients’ overall health, including sleep health. Many people suffer needlessly from dangerous sleep disruptive disorders, like sleep apnea, that keep them from getting enough oxygen at night.
The risk of a heart attack is 23 times more likely than average with a sleep disorder, and 92% of stroke victims live unknowingly with sleep apnea before an attack.
While CPAP (Continuous positive airway pressure) is often the first method tried, it’s not your only treatment option. Oral appliance therapy (OAT) is also effective and may have fewer side effects.
OSA
Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is a breathing disorder characterized by brief interruptions during sleep due to a blockage in the airway. Obstructions occur when throat muscles, the tongue, tonsils, or the soft palate relax and cover the airway, preventing breathing. The obstruction results in a severe drop in blood oxygen levels throughout the night.
If the sleep doctor prescribes, a dentist trained in sleep medicine works with them to treat obstructive sleep apnea with oral appliance therapy.
Snoring
Oral appliances fit over your teeth like an orthodontic retainer while you sleep and support your jaw in a forward position to keep your airway open.
If OAT is the best treatment option, your doctor can write a prescription and refer you to a qualified dentist who will make a custom-fit oral appliance for you. The dentist will provide ongoing treatment to ensure your device remains comfortable and effective.
To learn more about oral appliances, treatment options, and the advantages available, call Litchfield Dental Care. Or, book a consultation online, which is fast and easy.