DH is a dentist & he has a special area of interest & does a LOT of CE in the area of sleep dentistry (contrary to what some will tell you, it is NOT a specialty - yet).
He has patients come from several states to see him for dental devices - they can help depending on the reason for the snoring and the anatomical structures of some people. He works closely with the patient's doctors and will pretty much insist on a sleep study. For those that are CPAP-resistant (and many are), the dental devices can help.
CPAP is still considered the "gold standard" for treatment of certain kinds of apnea; not all snorers have apnea and not all people with apnea snore.
For the pp who said BC won't cover sleep studies - a lot of carriers still won't cover the at-home studies. DH can prescribe those & has the equipment, but because so many insurance plans don't cover this newer type of study, he sends them to their MD to prescribe a full study in an overnight clinic.
DH took an interest in all of this initially because of his own snoring. He successfully wore a dental device until he started some orthodontic work - at that point he switched to a CPAP. I'm a very sensitive sleeper & the machine doesn't bother me at all.
Please do see a dentist if you decide to use a dental appliance though -the boil & bite snore appliances that you can get at the drug store won't do the job over the long run & can actually cause TMJ problems later down the line. A good appliance should also be adjusted periodically.
He has patients come from several states to see him for dental devices - they can help depending on the reason for the snoring and the anatomical structures of some people. He works closely with the patient's doctors and will pretty much insist on a sleep study. For those that are CPAP-resistant (and many are), the dental devices can help.
CPAP is still considered the "gold standard" for treatment of certain kinds of apnea; not all snorers have apnea and not all people with apnea snore.
For the pp who said BC won't cover sleep studies - a lot of carriers still won't cover the at-home studies. DH can prescribe those & has the equipment, but because so many insurance plans don't cover this newer type of study, he sends them to their MD to prescribe a full study in an overnight clinic.
DH took an interest in all of this initially because of his own snoring. He successfully wore a dental device until he started some orthodontic work - at that point he switched to a CPAP. I'm a very sensitive sleeper & the machine doesn't bother me at all.
Please do see a dentist if you decide to use a dental appliance though -the boil & bite snore appliances that you can get at the drug store won't do the job over the long run & can actually cause TMJ problems later down the line. A good appliance should also be adjusted periodically.
