Sleep Better Columbus

Do you think you have sleep apnea?

Have tried CPAP therapy but just cannot tolerate the machine, the noise, the mask, or the inconvenience of traveling with the CPAP machine?

Is the CPAP living under your bed or in the back of the closet?

Do you snore or wake up frequently at night?

Are you tired all the time?

Untreated Sleep Problems Can Wreck Your Life

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a condition where the afflicted are not able to breathe properly while sleeping. Throughout the night sufferers will often experience apneas (defined as the temporary inability to breathe) that may last as long as 40 seconds. This causes your brain to “wake you up” enough that you’ll move and can resume breathing.

Most patients don’t know that they have this condition until they are observed by a spouse or sleeping partner. This means that most OSA sufferers are unaware of their condition and have just learned to live a life of fatigue. You do not have to live this way – there are many treatments available for OSA.

You may know people with sleep apnea and you know about the sleep studies, the CPAP machine and you want no part of it. Well, good news. Today, with recent advances, sleep studies can be done from the comfort of your own home and if you are diagnosed with mild or moderate sleep apnea, FDA registered oral appliances are available and may be used to treat sleep apnea when administered by a qualified dentist trained in Dental Sleep Medicine.

Oral appliances are very much like wearing a night guard or orthodontic retainer. Some describe them as being like an athletic mouthguard. The bottom line is that they are comfortable and relatively non-intrusive. There are currently over 200 FDA approved appliances. Dr. Levy uses about a dozen of them and chooses the right one for you based on a number of factors such as degree of snoring, mouth size, etc. While the principle behind these appliances is not new, they all do the same thing: move the lower jaw forward so as to open the airway and unblock your windpipe. Multiple studies in medical journals have shown that oral appliances are better tolerated by patients than CPAP therapy and they have a far better compliance rate.

If you feel you or someone you love may suffer from sleep apnea, or you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above, please contact Dr. Levy for a screening consultation.

Dr. Mark Levy has used oral appliance therapy to treat sleep disordered breathing since 2005 in the Central Ohio area. He has treated thousands of cases, ranging from the simplest to the most complex and provides oral appliances as an alternative to or in combination therapy with CPAP.

As a member of both the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and the Academy of Clinical Sleep Disorders Disciplines, Dr. Levy has completed hundreds of hours of continuing education, assuring you an exceptional level of education, training, and experience in the use of oral appliances.

Dr. Levy also lectured to healthcare providers in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia and has plans to continue to teach abroad, bringing awareness of obstructive sleep apnea to the Russian medical community.

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Dawne Slabach, DDS is committed to providing compassionate care to all patients. Her passion for TMJ disorders, sleep-disordered breathing and orthodontics all stem from her own experiences with all three areas of care.

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