Sleep Apnea Treatment

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Gerald B. Savory, will work with you to develop a customized sleep apnea treatment regimen that best addresses your unique condition. Based on the severity of your sleep apnea, Dr. Savory may recommend:

• Lifestyle changes
• Oral appliance therapy
• TAP-PAP treatment

Lifestyle Changes

If you suffer from a mild case of sleep apnea, then several simple lifestyle changes may effectively treat your condition. These include:

• Losing weight
• Quitting smoking
• Reducing alcohol intake
• Changing sleep positions to prevent your airway from collapsing
• Elevating your head while sleeping

If these lifestyle changes do not alleviate your sleep apnea, Dr. Savory will recommend a different treatment course to address your condition.

Oral Appliance Therapy

Sleep apnea oral appliances are custom-fit to your mouth and work to prevent your airway from collapsing while you sleep. You will need to wear the appliance while you sleep at night in order to stabilize your jaw, tongue, or soft palate, preventing airway obstruction and helping you breathe easily through the night.

Dr. Savory prefers the Thornton Adjustable Positioner (TAP) appliance to other alternatives. After more than three decades treating patients with sleep apnea, he has found the TAP appliance consistently achieves the best results.

The TAP appliance uses the principle of cardiopulmonary resuscitation to keep your airway open, maintaining proper breathing while you sleep. The mouth piece keeps your jaw in a forward position in order to prevent the muscles in your airway from collapsing. The device can be adjusted to fit the unique contours of your mouth.

TAP-PAP Treatment

TAP-PAP treatment combines the use of a TAP device with CPAP, also called continuous positive airway pressure. For many years, CPAP has been considered the “gold standard” of sleep apnea treatment. The CPAP device uses a mask to push air through your nasal passages while you sleep, preventing your airway from collapsing. However, due to the bulkiness of the apparatus, it has a low compliance rate.

By combining CPAP therapy with a TAP device, TAP-PAP treatment is able to eliminate many of the compliance issues associated with CPAP. Your TAP mouth piece will keep your airway open while the CPAP device will deliver low levels of air pressure to your nasal passages. The use of a TAP device eliminates the need for a mask. This, combined with the lower levels of air pressure delivered in this treatment, make TAP-PAP much more tolerable than traditional CPAP therapy.

Please contact our Boulder sleep apnea dentist today to schedule your initial sleep apnea treatment consultation. Gunbarrel Dental Center serves patients in Boulder, Gunbarrel, Longmont, Niwot, Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, and Superior, Colorado.

Disclaimer: The sleep apnea information provided on this website by Dr. Gerald Savory is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. To learn more about sleep apnea treatment in the Boulder, Colorado area, please contact Gunbarrel Dental Center to schedule a consultation today.