Sleep Apnea Therapy – Brampton, ON
Sleep Soundly and Breathe Comfortably Again
Sleep apnea is a condition that’s estimated to affect about 30 million people in the United States. If you’ve been snoring loudly or have felt exhausted during the day despite thinking you got enough rest the night before, you could be suffering from sleep apnea. Leaving this disorder alone for too long can put your health at risk, so call Salvaggio Dentistry of Brampton as soon as possible to see what our team can do to treat your symptoms and help you enjoy peaceful, restful nights again.
Why Choose Salvaggio Dentistry for Sleep Apnea Therapy?
- 3 highly skilled dental experts in one location
- Oral appliances fully customized for every patient
- Early, late, and Saturday hours available
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a disorder where your breathing repeatedly stops and restarts while you’re asleep. There are a few different kinds of sleep apnea, but by far the most common type is obstructive sleep apnea. It occurs when your airway is blocked by the muscles in your throat or the back of your mouth, which may relax and fall back while you’re asleep.
What makes sleep apnea particularly dangerous is that many people don’t even realize that they have it. The awakenings caused by the disorder are so brief that many don’t remember them happening. As a result, the disorder can go undiagnosed for a long time while wreaking havoc on the patient’s body.
The Dangers of Sleep Apnea
The lack of rest caused by sleep apnea can have a negative impact on your overall quality of life. If you don’t get enough sleep, your mental faculties could be diminished, making it more likely that you might have an accident while driving or at work. Sleep apnea also directly affects your overall health, as it can lead to high blood pressure and raise your risk of dangerous cardiovascular events like heart attacks. The dangers of sleep apnea become more severe the longer the disorder goes unaddressed, so you should seek professional care as soon as possible if you notice any concerning symptoms such as daytime sleepiness, loud chronic snoring, morning headaches, mood changes, and memory loss.
Sleep Apnea Treatment Options
CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines have long been the gold standard for treating sleep apnea. However, many people find it hard to sleep with a CPAP machine due to the loud noise it makes and the restrictive mask they need to wear. We offer CPAP-intolerant patients special oral mandibular advancement devices as a more comfortable, convenient alternative. These personalized appliances are meant to be worn at night so that they can shift your jaw into a better position that will keep your airway open.
Understanding the Cost of Sleep Apnea Treatment
Of course, as with any other treatment we provide, one of the first questions that people ask is, “How much will it cost?” We’re transparent with our patients at Salvaggio Dentistry because we believe they deserve to have all the information before deciding about their healthcare. You’ll find the answers to this question as well as more details about making sleep apnea treatment affordable below.
Does Dental Insurance Cover the Cost of Sleep Apnea Treatment?
It’s important to highlight that dental insurance does NOT cover sleep apnea treatment, and that’s true whether you’re talking about oral appliance therapy or CPAP. That’s because sleep apnea is designated as a medical issue, not a dental one. As such, that means our patients can use their medical insurance to cover this type of care even if they receive it from us.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Sleep Apnea Treatment
- Sleep Test: Before you’re able to receive any type of sleep apnea treatment, you first need an official diagnosis, and this is done by completing a sleep test that has its own separate cost.
- Insurance Coverage: While the majority of medical insurance plans offer some coverage for sleep apnea treatment, the amount differs from provider to provider and policy to policy.
- Type of Treatment: Oral appliance therapy and CPAP therapy have different costs both in the short and long term (CPAP tends to be more expensive overall).
Treat Your Sleep Apnea Now to Improve Your Health
From both a financial and health perspective, investing in sleep apnea treatment is a wise decision. In addition to helping a person have more energy and be in a better mood every day, it can also dramatically lower their healthcare costs over time.
Countless studies have shown that people with untreated sleep apnea are several times more likely to experience complications due to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer's, all of which are very expensive to treat on their own. Persistent sleep deprivation also makes you 3x more likely to be in a motor vehicle accident—losing a car unexpectedly can severely alter someone’s life on top of the potential for physical injury.
Making Sleep Apnea Treatment More Affordable
Fortunately, the team at Salvaggio Dentistry is able to work with and file claims with many medical insurance providers to help our patients pay for sleep apnea treatment. We’ll discuss all of these details at your initial consultation and give you an estimate of how much your plan will pay. From there, we’ll also handle the claim so you don’t have to.
Sleep Apnea FAQs
Can sleep apnea just go away on its own?
No, sleep apnea rarely resolves without some type of professional intervention. This is because the issue often stems from anatomical reasons like a narrow or unstable airway that easily becomes obstructed throughout the night. It’s not the type of condition that someone will grow out of or will eventually go away like the common cold. By the time we see most patients dealing with sleep apnea, they have been struggling with it for years or decades (and it only tends to become worse over time).
Does sleep apnea affect men and women differently?
While everyone’s experience with sleep apnea is unique in its own way, in general, men and women tend to display symptoms differently. While men are more likely to snore loudly, wake up feeling out of breath, and experience rapid weight gain, it’s more common for women to have morning headaches, insomnia, and difficulties with mood regulation (“mood swings”). Even though snoring and exhaustion are the most common symptoms, it’s important for people to understand all of the signs of sleep apnea so they know when to reach out for treatment.
Can losing weight help with sleep apnea?
Yes, most research indicates that losing weight can lead to an overall reduction in sleep apnea symptoms such as snoring, stoppages in breathing during the night, and the persistent exhaustion that follows. This makes a lot of sense because obesity is proven to be the leading preventable cause of sleep apnea—excess weight can lead to the development of tissue on the throat and chest that places pressure on the airway when someone lays down, making it easier for breathing to be cut off.
How do you fix sleep apnea naturally?
While it is possible for some patients to resolve their sleep apnea through lifestyle changes (such as losing weight, stopping smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, and taking less pain medication), these are typically very difficult and require a lot of time and effort. They are made even harder due to the exhaustion stemming from sleep apnea itself.
That’s why most physicians and sleep dentists will recommend a patient seek out professional treatment in addition to making these types of changes. This helps a patient get their sleep under control, which will afford them more energy and willpower to put toward making healthier choices that could further reduce their sleep apnea and improve overall health. It should be noted that even if someone is successful with these changes, it is quite rare for sleep apnea to completely go away on its own.