as good as the news above claim? has anybody used that appliance? does it work for severe OSA?  any inputs?

i am interested in somnomed. I checked the prices with dentists. one in boston charges 2500. one in nashua nh charges 700.

The SomnoMed is an excellent appliance, and has become my favorite. It can't promise to take you from a severe apneic to someone with no apnea, but no appliance can. That being said, I have done this with quite a few patients, so yes, it can be done. BTW, I would be very careful with a dentist only charging $700 for one. The lab fee is almost that much. Make sure the dentist you are getting this from has a lot of experience and can warn you about all potential side effects. Every patient is different, and a dentist needs to know how to read a sleep study and look at many other factors before he or she can assess if an appliance would be a good treatment for any specific patient.


_________________
Kent Smith DDS

Kent Smith wrote:

The SomnoMed is an excellent appliance, and has become my favorite. It can't promise to take you from a severe apneic to someone with no apnea, but no appliance can. That being said, I have done this with quite a few patients, so yes, it can be done. BTW, I would be very careful with a dentist only charging $700 for one. The lab fee is almost that much. Make sure the dentist you are getting this from has a lot of experience and can warn you about all potential side effects. Every patient is different, and a dentist needs to know how to read a sleep study and look at many other factors before he or she can assess if an appliance would be a good treatment for any specific patient.

I tried this therapy and it worked well until I tried to increase adjustment to open the airway even further.  The pressure on my teeth was very painful and it took more than 2 weeks for the pain on my teeth to subside even after I stopped using it.  Essentially $1200 down the drain!!!

Any ideas?   Suggestions???

I tried this therapy and it worked well until I tried to increase adjustment to open the airway even further.  The pressure on my teeth was very painful and it took more than 2 weeks for the pain on my teeth to subside even after I stopped using it.  Essentially $1200 down the drain!!!

Any ideas?   Suggestions???[/quote]

How much of an adjustment did you try to make? Did you make the adjustment in concert with your dentist?

Dr. Barsh

libarsh wrote:

I tried this therapy and it worked well until I tried to increase adjustment to open the airway even further.  The pressure on my teeth was very painful and it took more than 2 weeks for the pain on my teeth to subside even after I stopped using it.  Essentially $1200 down the drain!!!

Any ideas?   Suggestions???

How much of an adjustment did you try to make? Did you make the adjustment in concert with your dentist?

Dr. Barsh[/quote]

Hi - yes I did all of this in consultation with my dentist.  He made the first 2 adjustments for me and they were fine.  Then he trained me on how to use the little tool that comes with the device and I moved it to the 3rd adjustment point and that's when the pain started.  So the adjustment I made was very minor, but enough to give me a lot of pain.

The first 2 adjustment the dentist did were OK in terms of their apnea therapy but not enough to provide me with a full night's sleep. I still woke up twice per night with apnea symptoms.  That's why I did the 3rd adjustment.  The dentist told me to continue to do adjustments on my own until I got to a point of consistent sleep.

How soon after the other adjustments did you make the third?  Where was the pain?  Was it in all teeth or just a couple of teeth?  Was it in your jaw joints or in the teeth specifically? Was it in the upper or lower teeth or both?

It's tough to try to diagnose a problem like this without actually seeing the patient but perhaps a minor adjustment in the fit of the appliance would help.  
Dr. Barsh

libarsh wrote:

How soon after the other adjustments did you make the third?  Where was the pain?  Was it in all teeth or just a couple of teeth?  Was it in your jaw joints or in the teeth specifically? Was it in the upper or lower teeth or both?

It's tough to try to diagnose a problem like this without actually seeing the patient but perhaps a minor adjustment in the fit of the appliance would help.  
Dr. Barsh

Hi - I made the 3rd adjustment one month after I finished my work with the dentist (he was excellent BTW).  The pain was in my top front teet.  From one incisor across to the other.

I would suggest you go back to your dentist and ask about an adjustment to the interior of the upper appliance.  It sounds like the pressure from the forward positioning of the lower jaw is being applied to just the upper front teeth rather than being distributed around the arch.  It is possible that some minor adjustments to the inside of the appliance around the upper incisors might make a difference.

Please let me know what happens.

Dr. Barsh

libarsh wrote:

I would suggest you go back to your dentist and ask about an adjustment to the interior of the upper appliance.  It sounds like the pressure from the forward positioning of the lower jaw is being applied to just the upper front teeth rather than being distributed around the arch.  It is possible that some minor adjustments to the inside of the appliance around the upper incisors might make a difference.

Please let me know what happens.

Dr. Barsh

Excellent!   I am scheduled for a 6 month check up with him and a cleaning.  So I will definitely mention this to him.  I kind of just gave up and went back to my CPAP even thought I really liked the Somnomed much better ---- until it started to give me tooth pain.  Thanks very much.

Dr. Bash, i would like to know if you have any experience about the full breath appliance in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea; in your opinion is there an oral appliance that you will recommend to a person with severe obstructive apnea and what is the percentage of using it and getting successful results; thanks in advance for your reply.

melhajj

Sorry I've had no experience with the Full Breath appliance.  There are reportedly over 80 appliances available today, some naturally work better than others.  The choice of which oral appliance will work better for you has to be up to your dentist and what appliance he or she selects for you.  Unfortunately there is no way to predict in advance for certain which will be best. Success rates vary, in part, with the experience of the dentist you choose.  Take a look at http://www.quietsleep.com/choosedentist.cfm and make sure the dentist you choose has proper credentials.

Sorry I couldn't be more help

Dr. Barsh

thank you for your reply Dr. Bash, in fact i went to see a dentist and he suggested Klearway oral appliance; what about that one, Dr. Bash? is it good for severe obstructive sleep apnea due to the tongue rolling back to the airways? what rate of success will i reach with such an appliance? would that be just the cure to my problem? i was asking about full breath solution because i read in this forum that somebody is using it and claiming that it cured his sleep apnea, no more problems; i have asked some dentists about it but they seem not to know that appliance or not to have experience. Another problem with the oral appliance is that my medical insurance is still reviewing my case, to see if they will cover or not such an appliance; Which oral appliance do you recommend more often in patients with severe obstructive apnea.  Any orthodontics that you might recommend in philadelphia or south jersey? thanks in advance for the time and thought you put to answer my questions. Have a wonderful day.   

melhajj wrote:

as good as the news above claim? has anybody used that appliance? does it work for severe OSA?  any inputs?

After trying to adjust to CPAP for several months, my dentist suggested this appliance.  I adapted very quickly to using this, however I do have severe sleep apnea & we are still making adjustments to increase its functionality for me.    Being somewhat claustrophobic and restless the CPAP just didnt work for me.  In addition I have TMJ and have had lots of dental work, so I was apprehensive about spending so much for the somnomed & then not being able to use it.  While it is expensive, it was well worth it for me, I'm already sleeping better & hoping for even better results as the appliance is adjusted.

I hope this info helps you.  Good Luck!