Snoring & Airway Dentistry

What Is Sleep Apnea & How Can It Affect Me?

Sleep disordered breathing encompasses everything from snoring to full-blown sleep apnea. Simply put, your airway is closing as you are trying to sleep. The more often it happens, the longer it lasts, and the more your oxygen drops, all increase the severity and risk of the condition. It is important to note that not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, and not everyone with sleep apnea is snoring or making noise while asleep. Additionally important is understanding sleep disordered breathing conditions of varying severity, such as Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS), and Hypopnea. These conditions can still have a significant impact on a person’s quality of sleep, and as a result, health and well-being.

Common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea can include waking up with headaches, excessive clenching/grinding and tooth wear, daytime sleepiness, impaired brain function, mood disorders, diabetes, reflux, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, chronic heart failure and increased risk for stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. When severe enough, the research tells us that sleep disordered breathing can cut an individual’s remaining years of life in half!

One in three adult males and one in five adult females suffer from sleep apnea. It affects people of all shapes and sizes and although excess weight can be a contributor, it is not the only factor. There is a common misconception that apnea solely affects obese males, but the reality is that we find it frequently in thin, health-conscious female as well. There is a strong argument that every adult should be screened with an in-lab or at-home study, but certainly any person identified with risk factors should be tested.

What Snoring & Sleep Apnea Treatment Options Are Available?

After an objective diagnosis is achieved, a customized treatment plan is made for each patient. This may involve a CPAP machine, positional therapy, referrals to other health care specialists.

In our office we offer a variety of therapies:

• MADs | OAT: Mandibular advancement appliances or oral appliance therapy, worn on the top and bottom teeth they hold or advance the jaw forward, preventing the lower jaw and tongue from falling back and obstructing the airway.

Dr. Peterson’s preferred appliance is one of a kind in its class. FDA-cleared for snoring and sleep apnea, it is BPBA-free and combines high-performance medical-grade materials with manufacturing robotics. It is more flexible, durable, and hygienic than other appliances on the market.

More therapies we offer

Sagging tissues in the back of the throat are rejuvenated using fractional laser technology. This laser energy creates hundreds of microscopic channels in the skin. The body responds with a wound response, even though the channels fully heal within just a few hours. The response is to produce new collagen and elastin sent to “heal” the wounds, tightening the sagging skin and reducing existing inflammation. 4-6 easy treatment sessions are typical, and there is no downtime or pain with the latest protocols and equipment! We were the first in Utah to provide this amazing treatment and continue to get great feedback from our patients. They report they are breathing better when sleeping and during activities throughout the day.

Like physical therapy for the tongue and muscles of the head and neck, current research shows the potential for up to 50% improvement in sleep-disordered breathing on sleep tests. Dr. Peterson and Dalton have both received over 60 hours of training from the AOMT and the entire clinical team has attended lectures with both the AOMT and The Breathe Institute. We can say we’ve seen these kinds of results in some of our patients through objective before and after testing with home sleep reports.

If properly diagnosed and treated, freeing up the tongue from its trapped position on the floor of the mouth can improve breathing and sleep as well as other head and neck pain symptoms. Dr. Peterson practices a functional release approach as made famous by Dr. Soroush Zaghi.

A functional approach to expansion orthodontics can create more resting room for the tongue in the dental arches, freeing up and sometimes creating much-needed airway space for breathing.