Sleep Apnea Appliance Jaw Pain

If you have persistent symptoms of sleep apnea and don t use your cpap you should have a conversation with your sleep doctor to review alternative treatments including potentially using an oral appliance and trying some exercises as long as you do not have severe sleep apnea oral appliances are a good and effective alternative to cpap in treating mild to moderate sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea appliance jaw pain.

At the center for sleep apnea and tmj we focus our practice solely on the treatment of sleep apnea snoring tmj disorders head and facial pain. She said the sleep apnea dental appliance could make the tmj worse. Ask your patient if they changed any sleeping habits such as a new pillow or mattress. It isn t just the mandibular advancement device that could be at play.

Jaw opening exercises your patients can use. I declined to do this since my understanding is that there is no guarantee that the dental appliance will help with my sleep apnea. Over the years numerous patients with osa have also been diagnosed with tmj. The incorrect appliance can force patients into a headache jaw pain spiral.

Oral appliances are a possible treatment for snoring and obstructive sleep apnea that work by holding the lower jaw in a forward position during sleep. The standards which are set forth by the american academy of dental sleep medicine are rigorous and only the most qualified offices are able to attain such accreditation. In addition to icing their jaw they can stretch out the muscles as well. This tmj appliance is not covered by insurance so i would have to pay the full cost of it out of pocket.

With all of the latest data i feel the proper approach to treating tmj disorders and obstructive sleep apnea is with the use of precise muscle measuring and monitored therapy not simply an oral appliance continues dr. If you have mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea and can t tolerate or haven t been helped by cpap oral appliances may be an effective treatment option. Studies have shown that they can work well for some patients. Oral appliances for snoring or sleep apnea have risks too.

Here are a few examples. I myself wear an anterior positioning obstructive sleep apnea appliance the moses and use a jaw re positioner every morning for about 30 minutes to re align my jaw back into a comfortable position. Online study groups and cohorts of other sleep dentists are great when it comes to identifying the cause of your patient s ailment. To help your patients with tmd pain try recommending some exercises.

Research published in 2009 indicated that more than 50 percent of osa patients had symptoms of tmj.