Clear Directions: Sleep Appliance Therapy

After you have treated your first two or three sleep patients it likely becomes quite clear (if it wasn’t already) that no one appliance will fit the bill (or the dentition) for every patient

Each appliance has it’s own limitations and every patient is different. For example:

• One type of appliance may hold the upper and lower jaw firmly together. For someone who is a mouth breather, this…

can prove to be nothing short of torturous. Claustrophobia… and failure.

• Or let’s say your appliance of choice is retained in the patient’s mouth by grabbing the undercuts that naturally occur in the dentition.  If the patient doesn't have enough back teeth to anchor the appliance, the appliance will not stay in the patient’s mouth. That can prove to be an expensive mistake.

• Some patients are lateral bruxers, so any appliance that prevents lateral movement may be less than ideal. In fact some sleep appliances will not survive the force of bruxing and will simply break.