Sleep apnea – defined as frequently interrupted breathing while you sleep – is just one of the major sleep problems you can have, along with others like insomnia, circadian rhythm problems, movement disorders during sleep and others. But apnea is one of the most common complaints, and one of the most serious.

Sleep apnea is fascinating because there are so many comorbidities associated with it. If that’s a new word to you, no worries: A “comorbidity” is a medical term; it means the presence of a second (or third or fourth) chronic disease or condition in a patient who already has one chronic condition. Sadly, a number of chronic conditions tend to cluster together. They seem to run in packs.

So many people I helped didn't know why they were feeling so poorly. Sometimes they knew they weren't sleeping well, but they didn't know why; others couldn't figure out what their problem was at all. I began to look into it, and because I was in a teaching institution at the time, I was around a lot of pioneers in the field, people who made big differences in people’s lives in the areas of facial pain and dysfunction. And two things became very clear: Sleep disorders in general, and sleep apnea in particular, was a major problem for many of my patients. And even more important, I came to realize, oral appliances are very effective in treating sleep apnea.

I truly believe that the properly made and maintained mouthpiece (called an oral appliance) can help most patients, at almost any age, with apnea, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, and more than occasionally for insomnia. But how can you tell if you are a candidate for this particular treatment?