Is Great Sleep Worth A Cup Of Coffee?

For the past fifteen years,  we have been working with patients who suffer from snoring and sleep apnea. We find it a privilege to improve their quality of lives and sleep with oral devices that help them reach peaceful sleep. These oral devices are small, convenient and fit in the palm of your hand, far easier to deal with than previous failed attempts of CPAP therapy (often prescribed for snoring and apnea patients). Simply, these devices save lives.

One of the obstacles of moving forward with oral appliance therapy that we often hear from our newer patients includes cost and payments. So here are a few facts we put together.

• In most cases,  medical insurance reimburses a large portion of the service and device if the claim is properly handled.

• If insurance should not cover your situation, let’s do the math. If you consider the wide range of oral devices for snoring and apnea, let’s choose as a sample to use a longer lasting high quality custom device. A new custom type quality mouth device for snoring and apnea can last 3 years and usually much longer. (One of my patients who came in yesterday brought in his 10 year old oral appliance, and it is still in great shape!)  If you wore your oral device every night for 3 years, it would only cost you $2.47 a night.  If you compare that to a tall cup of Starbuck’s coffee which averages $3.00, that is 53 cents more a day to drink coffee than to wear a much needed, life saving device.

• Ask us if there is a temporary option using a lower quality and not as highly custom type device for you. For some patients,  this device can give some relief but we still recommend working with a dentist trained and willing to help you with this.  Side effects for these devices are often worse than  FDA approved adjustable custom devices.

Let us look at some of the possible outcomes with the lack of treatment in relation to obstructive sleep apnea and snoring. There are thousands of dollars of cost that often accompany these conditions.

• High Blood Pressure
• Stroke
• Heart Attack
• Morning Headaches that last all day.
• Sexual Dysfunction
• Mood Changes
• Relationship strains
• Higher traveling expenses (separate rooms)

Consider this: An oral appliance last years and profoundly change the quality of your life, especially if you have already attempted CPAP therapy. Make sleep a number one priority in your life! Peaceful, restful nights can add years to your life.