4 Useful Tips for Adjusting to an Oral Appliance

When you first get your oral appliance for obstructive sleep apnea, you could be rightfully happy and expectant. Ultimately, this treatment could help your daily quality of life and general health. What if, nevertheless, you discover that adjusting to wearing your appliance is challenging? This blog article explains why that could occur and offers some advice to enable you to adjust to your treatment.

Why might you feel some discomfort?

Since a personalized oral appliance is made for your particular mouth, you would think it should be comfortable right away. Not always, though, is the case.

Remember, your body will identify the hard plastic used in most oral appliances as a foreign item. You might therefore drool rather more than you usually do. A strong gag reaction could also make it difficult for you to place your appliance in your mouth. Certain folks even unwittingly turn off their appliances while they sleep!

How Will Your Oral Appliance Change You?

Most patients discover that their oral appliance gradually makes considerable improvement in their sleep quality and becomes easy to use. You might have to use these pointers in the interim to get through the change-over process:

Wear it often: If you only use your appliance once in a while, your body will keep reacting to it as though it were an alien thing. Constant wear will help it feel more familiar.

Practice during the daytime: Wearing your appliance when you are awake—perhaps for some peaceful reading or TV viewing—may be useful for a period. This will let your body adjust to its sensations.

inhale via your nose: Wearing your appliance and deliberately breathing through your nose will help to relax your gag reflex.

Stay patient: Should you not immediately accept your dental appliance, avoid being too worried. Many patients discover they are completely adjusted to their new sleep schedule within two to three weeks.

In case you still find it difficult to adjust?

See the sleep dentist who supplied your mouth appliance if more than three weeks have gone by and you still find difficulty using it. They might be able to slightly modify your device to provide some greater comfort. Sometimes a different kind of oral appliance could be advised.

Your life could be improved by an oral sleep appliance! Use the advice to get used to your gadget so you may completely enjoy it.