Dentists and dental labs can collaborate to provide custom solutions for patients with sleep apnea and snoring issues. If you have patients with this or similar conditions, you may recommend oral devices to help reduce the symptoms or treat the issue. The medical devices are usually fabricated by the same labs that help you with dentures, crowns, and other dental prostheses. Here’s how laboratories help patients with sleep apnea:
Oral Appliance Fabrication
CPAP is the standard choice for treating sleep apnea, but the option is invasive and doesn’t suit every patient. Oral devices offer a safe, effective, non-invasive alternative that enhances airflow to reduce snoring and sleep disruptions. You can prescribe custom oral devices or appliances to patients who show symptoms of sleep apnea and snoring. The oral appliances, also known as mandibular repositioning devices, are fabricated by dental labs using custom impressions and instructions you provide them. Mandibular repositioning devices help to advance the patient’s lower jaw slightly forward, keeping the airway open during sleep.
Obstructive sleep apnea usually stems from upper airway obstruction caused by relaxed or collapsed soft tissues in the throat. The relaxed tongue, tonsils, or soft palate cause repeated partial or complete airway blockage, resulting in disrupted breathing. The pauses in airflow, or apneas, can last for several seconds and cause frequent awakenings. A narrowed airway also leads to vibrations in the throat tissues, resulting in snoring. Oral devices keep the airway open, promote airflow, and help to treat mild to moderate sleep apnea and snoring.
Appliance Personalization
Mandibular advancement and repositioning devices are intraoral and should align with your patient’s bite and jaw. You can take detailed impressions of the patient’s teeth and jaw using digital scanners or traditional alginate and condensed silicon molds. The impressions are then sent to a laboratory that completes the fabrication. Leading labs use computer-aided design and manufacturing to fabricate the intraoral devices. The process also involves 3D printing or milling and finishing touches, such as staining.
Labs help to produce custom fabrications that fit comfortably inside your patients’ mouths. You can fit the devices on your patients and make adjustments if necessary. If the device doesn’t fit, return it to the lab for modification. You should perform a thorough evaluation and take accurate impressions of the patient’s dental structure to achieve a custom-made fit. The lab may help you select materials based on the patient’s needs and type of intraoral device. Custom devices offer enhanced comfort and effectiveness for each patient. Labs can also help adjust the device to match the changing needs of your clients.
Treatment Advancement
Laboratories usually collaborate with dentists and sleep specialists to advance treatment for sleep disorders like apnea and snoring. The interdisciplinary approach enables accurate diagnosis of sleep apnea and the selection of appropriate oral appliances for specific needs. Labs also remain involved throughout treatment and offer help with follow-up appointments. They can assess if the medical devices are effective and make adjustments to improve various aspects like comfort and efficacy.
Partnering with a laboratory allows you to provide a non-invasive alternative to a CPAP. Some patients can’t tolerate CPAP therapy or are seeing an alternative to surgery. Personalized intraoral appliances are effective at improving airflow while remaining discrete. The devices are also portable and user-friendly, making them a practical alternative to bulky CPAP machines. By fabricating custom oral devices, laboratories provide more treatment options for patients with sleep apnea, snoring, and other airway-related sleep disorders. The devices allow natural sleeping positions and have minimalist designs resembling retainers, dentures, and other dental prostheses.
Find Reliable Dental Labs Today
Intraoral devices may be used to treat sleep apnea and are fabricated by labs with the help of dentists. If you have patients with disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, you can design custom devices tailored to their needs. Speak to a dental lab today to learn more about custom intraoral mandibular advancement devices for sleep apnea.
Leave a Reply