Kids & Sleep!

Have you heard your child snore? Take a moment to read Mouth Breathing: Adverse Effects on Facial Growth, Health, Academics, and Behavior to learn about how sleep disorders impact children. Talk to your child's dentist or pediatrician if you have concerns about your child's sleep hygiene. Consider checking in on your child or use the baby monitor every now and then to monitor his or her sleep patterns.

Local pediatricians often refer parents to healthychildren.org as a resource for many health, developmental, and nutritional issues. This site also has information available for the different ages & stages that talks about sleep. Check it out--it could literally change your child's life!

Oral Appliance Therapy & Dentures

Can someone who wears dentures wear an oral appliance to manage his or her sleep apnea? The answer depends completely on the shape of the remaining ridges. Healthy, strong ridges can support an oral appliance in such a way that the appliance is effective. If you have issues wearing your dentures, you might also have a problem wearing an oral appliance designed to manage sleep apnea.

A solution to both problems is to be evaluated for implants to stabilize and greatly improve your denture function, thus making you a candidate for oral appliance therapy.

This is an excellent example of why a dentist who is trained in managing sleep apnea with an oral appliance leads this aspect of treatment: It is imperative that your dentition is considered when making the decision to proceed with treatment.

Does insurance cover an oral appliance? The answer to that question is dependent on your insurance plan; however, an oral appliance for sleep apnea is billed to your medical insurance, not dental. In most cases, you have already met your deductible because of the sleep study and the appliance is covered at the contracted rate. Dental Sleep Therapy of Walla Walla also has the ability to bill Medicare as a Durable Medical Equipment supplier under Medicare Part B. Medicare covers a significant portion of the cost of the appliance, leaving a small co-pay that is often covered by secondary insurance.

Remember, the impact sleep apnea has on your health and lifestyle ranges from cardiovascular disease to diabetes and in some cases death. Assemble a team of doctors and dentists who can help you improve your condition. It could save your life.

Advantages to Using Oral Appliance Therapy

Finding a method of treatment that works for you is absolutely top priority! Some advantages to treatment with an oral appliance include the following:

·         Travels well

·         Sleep free from attachments

·         Speak and drink while in use

·         Makes NO noise

·         Does not require electricity

·         No cumbersome head gear

·         No consumable parts to replace

·         Does not limit sleep positions

If you have questions about how an oral appliance can work for you, give us a call! We would be happy to teach you more about oral appliance therapy.

Stay tuned for our next blog post—Can you wear an oral appliance if you wear dentures?

Insurance & Oral Appliance Therapy

Even though oral appliance therapy is administered by a dentist, did you know that medical insurance benefits are billed for the service? It is perfectly logical to assume that dental insurance is utilized for services rendered by a dentist, but there are many services that a dentist performs, including fabricating an oral appliance for sleep apnea, that is billed to medical. This can be an advantage for a number of reasons: you probably already met your deductible if your sleep study was done in this benefit year—so in most cases the deductible would not need to be met; more people have access to medical insurance; and medical insurance maximums are significantly higher than dental insurance on average. Of course, there are always exceptions, exclusions, and the fine print of every policy.

We are happy to research your benefits and submit a preauthorization for the appliance to your insurance company. Unfortunately, no matter what your insurance determines, the preauthorization is no guarantee they will pay once the claim is formally submitted. Never hesitate to ask about your health insurance benefits as we are always happy to help!