Here’s why a custom-made oral appliance might be a better sleep option
By Patricia Nugent
Americans are more sleep-deprived than ever before. And for one in five people, it’s because of obstructive sleep apnea, which causes you to stop breathing intermittently during sleep.
Unfortunately for snorers and sleep apnea sufferers, the commonly prescribed treatment—a CPAP machine—can often have the counterintuitive effect of making sleep more difficult.
Dr. Michael Stern founded Snoring & CPAP Solutions to offer patients a better alternative: custom-made oral appliances.
A dentist in Willoughby Hills for 40 years, he relied on his medical training to come to the rescue after he was diagnosed with sleep apnea and decided to forgo CPAP treatment and to try an oral sleep appliance instead. He immediately stopped snoring, had more complete sleep, and noticed more energy during the day.
“When I did a sleep test, it found that on AHI, or apnea hypoxia index, I was an eight, with the normal being below five,” he says. “As a doctor, I could see the writing on the wall. I had to do something.”
He went through vigorous training with the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine in Chicago to become one of only 1,000 certified practitioners to fit oral appliances.
He says the majority of the patients who come to him have already had a sleep test, received a diagnosis, tried a CPAP machine and were unhappy with it. The rest are looking for help and need to undergo a sleep test.
“After we meet with patients and take impressions of their mouth, it takes about three weeks for the appliances to be fabricated in an FDA-approved lab of FDA design,” he says.
He works with several leading manufacturers to offer patients different models.
The appliances resemble a mouthguard, with the top and bottom pieces either snapping together or hinging together to stabilize the lower jaw so it doesn’t fall open and back, collapsing the airway. There are no machines, tubes or masks.
Is Snoring Making You Fat?
Besides just sleepiness during the day and irritability, sleep apnea is linked to heart attack and stroke risk as well as Alzheimer’s disease.
“And since the lack of restorative sleep causes the body to inhibit the release of satiation hormones that make you feel full, sleep apnea is also linked to obesity,” says Dr. Stern. “It’s something of a medical catch-22, snoring can make you gain weight, and gaining weight contributes to snoring.”
“It Would Be Nice to Be Awake...”
One of the patients Dr. Stern has fitted for an oral appliance is Diana R. of Euclid. As a chronic sleep apnea sufferer, she underwent a sleep test two years ago that showed on average, she stopped breathing a shocking 15 times per hour.
“I woke up every morning exhausted,” says the 40-year-old. “I work and have two children and a husband, and it would be nice to be awake to enjoy them. I tried a CPAP, but since I’m not a back sleeper, it was very uncomfortable. Every time I turned over, the seal broke.”
She heard about Dr. Stern from a friend and went in for a fitting for an appliance.
“It felt surprisingly comfortable, just like a mouthguard, and I could talk with it in,” she says. “For the first time in years, I actually slept through the night. I used to get up five or six times per night to go to the bathroom, now I don’t get up at all.”
Dr. Stern explains that apnea also releases a hormone that causes the body to produce more urine, another catch-22.
Snoring and CPAP Solutions is located at 34500 Chardon Road, Suite #1, in Willoughby Hills. Oral appliances are usually covered by insurance as long as there is a written medical necessity letter from a primary physician. Call 440-833-6008 or visit SnoringandCPAPSolutions.com for more information and take an online survey to see how your sleep shapes up.