Treatments

The quality of your sleep greatly affects your quality of life. The good news is that help is readily available and usually doesn't require medications. If you think you may have sleep apnea or you know someone who might, please ask us for a referral to a qualified sleep specialist in your area or talk to your primary care doctor. Treating sleep apnea can add more life to your years and more years to your life.

Oral Appliance Therapy

Oral appliance therapy has become a widely used and excepted method of treating sleep disordered breathing. The "gold standard" therapy for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is "CPAP" or continuous positive airway pressure. Although CPAP is usually very effective at treating OSA, there Dr. Carl McMillan are many patients who are not able to tolerate it's use. If you have tried to use CPAP, but have given up on using the therapy, an oral appliance may be for you.

Oral appliance therapy for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea and other sleep disordered breathing problems is usually covered by your medical insurance!

Snoring

If your physician believes that your snoring is not a symptom of more serious sleep disordered breathing problem, an oral appliance can be used to quiet your snoring and improve the sleep of your bed partner! Dr. Spencer has brought many a couple back to the same bedroom by eliminating snoring. Since snoring is currently viewed as a "cosmetic" issue by insurance companies, your insurance will usually not help with the cost of your care. However, snoring is often a symptom of sleep apnea or upper airway resistance syndrome. Dr. Spencer recommends evaluation by a knowledgeable sleep specialist, ENT or neurologist prior to any treatment for snoring.