The quick answer can be found in the two different names. Snoring is irritating to others but not life threatening. Obstructive Sleep Apnea, however, kills thousands of people each year.

If you read the packaging on a snore guard or similar product, you will NOT find any mention of sleep apnea at all. The FDA has approved snore guards to treat snoring but definitely not Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

An Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance treats Obstructive Sleep Apnea AND snoring and, as a special added bonus, can save your life.

Any appliance used in the mouth is capable of displacing your bite mechanics and giving you TMJ. However, Dr. Waite sees you a number of times after your Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance is first custom fitted to you. These follow-up visits allow Dr. Waite to perfectly adjust your appliance to specifically NOT give you TMJ.

If you are currently wearing your CPAP for at least 6 hours a night, then there is no reason to switch to an Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance.

That being said, however, many of our patients use both. They use their CPAP when they are at home following their normal sleep routine. But, when they’re traveling, camping, napping on the couch, or doing any number of activities where a CPAP is cumbersome or impossible to use, they sleep with their easily portable and convenient Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance instead.

At this time, you cannot wear an Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance if you are totally edentulous (have no teeth) and wear dentures. However if you are wearing a partial and have some teeth left, wearing an Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance is possible.

The FDA does not recommend using an Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance to treat severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. However, they don’t say that it CAN’T be used to treat severe Sleep Apnea. To be honest, if you are not currently using your CPAP to control your sleep apnea, an Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance is a better option than wearing nothing. Even a diminished percentage of effectiveness is better than 0%.

While we can’t offer you any “deals” (that would be unfair to our other patients), we CAN offer you a treatment solution that doesn’t cause cancer. Or, anything else.

Oral Sleep Apnea Appliances don’t have any filters that become breeding grounds for germs.

They don’t have hoses that must be sterilized frequently and then replaced after a while because the plastic and silicone breaks down from being sterilized.

They don’t have pumps with moving parts that use a chemical lubricant that can collect germs or emit vapors.

They don’t have water chambers that MUST be cleaned daily to avoid having the water turn into a miniature pond of algae, germs and microscopic animals.

They don’t have to have the entire unit run through a steam disinfecting process (recommended weekly by CPAP manufacturers).

Every morning, wear it into the bathroom with you and take it out there. After you’ve finished brushing your teeth, refill your toothbrush with your toothpaste and brush your Oral Sleep Apnea Appliance. A simple, daily brushing (about 2-3 minutes) will keep it clean and fresh.