Sleep Apnea Care · Sterling, Virginia
Explore Oral Appliance Treatment for Sleep Apnea
Dr. E. Richard Hughes offers custom dental appliances for appropriate patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
Start with a medical diagnosis and a coordinated plan. An oral appliance may be an option for selected patients, but it is not a treatment for every type of sleep apnea or a substitute for sleep testing.
What Is Sleep Apnea?
Repeated Breathing Interruptions During Sleep
Sleep apnea occurs when breathing repeatedly stops and restarts during sleep. It can affect people across different ages and body types, and symptoms may go unrecognized.
In obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the upper airway becomes narrowed or blocked during sleep. Central sleep apnea involves problems with the signals controlling breathing. The conditions can also occur together.
Nova's dental appliance treatment focuses on appropriate cases of OSA. Central or mixed sleep apnea needs medical management; moving the jaw forward does not address every cause of interrupted breathing.
Your Starting Point
Where Are You in the Evaluation Process?
The next step depends on whether a sleep disorder has been diagnosed and what treatment has already been tried.
Symptoms, but No Diagnosis
Snoring, gasping, witnessed pauses in breathing or daytime sleepiness deserve a medical discussion. Symptoms alone cannot establish sleep apnea.
Contact your medical clinician or a sleep specialist about evaluation. If you contact Nova, explain that you have not yet had a sleep study.
Diagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Bring your sleep-study report and prescribed treatment information to discuss whether an appliance may fit your medical and dental needs.
Not every diagnosed patient is a suitable candidate. Your sleep clinician and dentist have different roles in the decision.
Difficulty With CPAP
Tell your prescribing clinician about mask, comfort or use problems. Adjustments may help, or an alternative may be considered.
An oral appliance may be discussed if CPAP is not tolerated or you prefer another approach. Continue prescribed care until your clinician advises a change.
Symptoms and Health
Look Beyond Snoring
Symptoms can include fatigue, irritability, waking during the night, headaches, dry throat, forgetfulness and choking or gasping. These concerns can occur with sleep apnea, but can also have other causes.
Loud snoring or observed breathing pauses may prompt evaluation even if you do not notice disrupted sleep yourself. Tell your clinician what a bed partner has observed.
Untreated sleep apnea is associated with serious health problems, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Evaluation matters; a dental appliance cannot promise to eliminate those risks.
If you are too sleepy to drive safely, do not drive. Discuss significant daytime sleepiness promptly with your medical clinician.
See the NHLBI's symptom guide and diagnosis overview for general information.
Hear From Dr. Hughes
Video: Sleep Apnea Treatment
Watch Dr. Hughes introduce sleep-apnea care, then discuss how medical diagnosis and dental appliance treatment relate to your own situation.
Watch on YouTube (opens a new tab)
The video provides general information. A sleep-apnea diagnosis and treatment choice require individual clinical evaluation.
Custom Oral Appliances
Supporting the Airway by Positioning the Jaw
The custom splints described by Nova hold the lower jaw slightly forward during sleep. This may help keep the upper airway open in appropriate patients with OSA.
A sleep-apnea appliance is different from a general night guard for grinding or a store-bought snoring device. Dental suitability includes the condition of your teeth, gums, bite and jaw joints.
Medical treatment options include positive airway pressure, such as CPAP, and other approaches based on the condition. PAP is a common treatment; an appliance should not be presented as equally effective for every patient.
Ask your sleep clinician and Dr. Hughes about the benefits, limitations and follow-up needed for your proposed plan.
The NHLBI treatment overview describes PAP, oral devices and other medical options.
A Coordinated Care Path
Evaluation, Fitting and Follow-Up
01 · Establish the Diagnosis
Review Medical Findings
A medical clinician evaluates your history and arranges appropriate sleep testing. The diagnosis, type and severity of sleep apnea help guide treatment. Bring those findings and a medication list to your dental consultation.
02 · Evaluate Dental Suitability
Discuss a Custom Appliance
Dr. Hughes evaluates your mouth and discusses whether an appliance is appropriate within your medical plan. If selected, fitting and adjustment instructions are individualized. Ask what appointments and care are included.
03 · Check the Response
Confirm Effectiveness
Dental follow-up checks fit, comfort and effects on teeth and bite. Follow-up sleep testing through your sleep clinician helps confirm whether treatment is effective. Feeling better or snoring less is not sufficient proof by itself.
Comfort and Ongoing Care
Appliances Need Monitoring
Possible effects include tooth or jaw discomfort, changes in saliva or dry mouth, and changes in your bite. Report symptoms and follow the practice's instructions rather than adjusting the device on your own.
Bring the appliance to follow-up appointments and ask how to clean, store and maintain it. Dental changes, weight changes or returning symptoms may call for reassessment by your care team.
Discuss lifestyle measures, such as sleep position, smoking cessation or weight management when relevant, with your medical clinician. Do not stop or change prescribed sleep aids or other medications without medical advice.
Planning Your Visit
Understand the Care and the Cost
Ask for a written estimate covering the appliance, fitting, adjustments and follow-up. Clarify which medical testing or visits are arranged separately.
Coverage and billing requirements vary. Confirm benefits, authorization requirements and current practice billing arrangements with the team and your insurer; do not assume medical or dental insurance will cover the appliance.
Payment and Financing Information →Learn more about Dr. Hughes and the practice's general dental care.
Sleep Apnea Questions
What to Know Before Choosing an Appliance
Does snoring mean I have sleep apnea?
No. Snoring can occur with or without sleep apnea. A medical assessment and appropriate testing determine whether a sleep disorder is present.
Can a dental examination diagnose sleep apnea?
A dentist can identify concerns and discuss referral, but the medical diagnosis requires appropriate clinical evaluation and sleep testing. A dental appliance consultation does not replace that process.
Can I replace CPAP with an oral appliance?
Possibly, if your medical and dental evaluation supports that choice. Do not discontinue prescribed CPAP on your own. Discuss tolerability, treatment goals and confirmation of effectiveness with your sleep clinician.
Does an appliance treat central sleep apnea?
The jaw-positioning appliances discussed here are for selected cases of obstructive sleep apnea. Central sleep apnea involves breathing-control signals and needs medical management.
Is it the same as a night guard?
No. A grinding guard is not designed to provide the same airway treatment as a prescribed sleep-apnea appliance. Do not use a store-bought device as a substitute for diagnosed, monitored care.
How will I know whether treatment is working?
Follow-up sleep testing helps confirm the response. Less snoring or improved energy can be encouraging, but symptoms alone do not establish adequate control. Continue medical and dental follow-up.
Will I still need visits after the appliance is fitted?
Yes. Follow-up evaluates comfort, device condition, oral health and bite changes, while your sleep clinician reviews control of the condition. Ask for your individual schedule.
Sleep Apnea Appliance Care in Sterling
Discuss Your Diagnosis and Dental Options
If you have diagnosed OSA, bring your medical findings to explore whether an oral appliance may be appropriate. If you have symptoms without a diagnosis, seek medical evaluation first.
Nova Implant Family Dentistry
46440 Benedict Dr, Suite 201
Sterling, VA 20164
