{"id":52,"date":"2025-11-03T15:39:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T15:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=52"},"modified":"2025-12-11T15:41:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T15:41:12","slug":"sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/","title":{"rendered":"Unlikely Heroes: Who to See for Sleep Apnea Treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-300x200.png\" alt=\"sleep-apnea-treatment\" class=\"wp-image-53\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image.png 491w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>You can\u2019t get any sleep, and you\u2019re pretty positive it\u2019s because of sleep apnea. Who in the world should you see for treatment?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a couple of different professionals to choose from. You could visit an ear, nose, and throat doctor, a neurologist, or a pulmonologist, for example. But there\u2019s one unlikely hero that might be more convenient: a sleep dentist! Keep reading to see how these specialists can provide effective sleep apnea treatment near you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Visit a Dentist for Sleep Apnea?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It probably seems strange to visit the type of professional you would normally see to get your teeth cleaned for sleep apnea treatment! But there\u2019s actually a pretty good reason why many dentists decide to specialize in this field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of their undergrad and graduate studies, dentists have to learn a lot about the anatomy of the oral cavity. They not only become experts in teeth, but also gums, dental roots, jaw alignment, and so much more. Basically, they\u2019re familiar with how different parts of your mouth interact with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As it just so happens, the most common type of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, is often caused by overrelaxed oral tissue and muscles. These substances block the airway, leading to challenges with getting enough air while you lie down. Someone who already understands oral alignment, like a dentist, won\u2019t have too much trouble learning how to reposition the jaw to shift airway obstructions and improve a patient\u2019s breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Do Dentists Treat Sleep Apnea?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to their specialized knowledge, a qualified sleep dentist can design customized oral appliances to treat sleep apnea. These mouthguard-like devices are worn during sleep, and gradually shift the jaw\u2019s position so that oral muscles and tissue no longer obstruct the airway. Unlike a CPAP, which can be rather cumbersome and noisy, an oral sleep appliance is low-profile and completely soundless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Do I Get a Sleep Apnea Diagnosis?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first step towards sleep apnea relief is getting an official diagnosis. That means you\u2019ll need to talk to your primary care physician about taking a sleep test. Not only will this confirm whether you have sleep apnea or another type of sleep disorder, but it will also provide your dentist with information that will help them personalize your treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re tired of being, well, <em>tired<\/em>, call your sleep dentist and PCP so you can start your journey towards sleep apnea relief!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/meet-dr-ryan.html\">Dr. Bridget Ryan<\/a> is a proud member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and the American Board of Sleep Medicine. As a qualified sleep dentist with over 25 years of experience, Dr. Ryan would be happy to help you find your best fit sleep solution and get the good night\u2019s rest you deserve! To schedule a consultation, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/contact.html\">contact her office<\/a> at 440-454-8200.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can\u2019t get any sleep, and you\u2019re pretty positive it\u2019s because of sleep apnea. Who in the world should you see for treatment? There are a couple of different professionals to choose from. You could visit an ear, nose, and throat doctor, a neurologist, or a pulmonologist, for example. But there\u2019s one unlikely hero that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Who to See for Sleep Apnea | Ohio Dental Sleep Solutions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You probably wouldn\u2019t guess that your dentist can treat sleep apnea! Here\u2019s what makes them qualified to do so.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Who to See for Sleep Apnea | Ohio Dental Sleep Solutions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"You probably wouldn\u2019t guess that your dentist can treat sleep apnea! Here\u2019s what makes them qualified to do so.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image.png\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ohiodentalsleep\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f93c3181afb628954830e6eda2c61a6\"},\"headline\":\"Unlikely Heroes: Who to See for Sleep Apnea Treatment\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T15:39:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-11T15:41:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":491,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/image-300x200.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/\",\"name\":\"Who to See for Sleep Apnea | Ohio Dental Sleep Solutions\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/image-300x200.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-03T15:39:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-11T15:41:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f93c3181afb628954830e6eda2c61a6\"},\"description\":\"You probably wouldn\u2019t guess that your dentist can treat sleep apnea! Here\u2019s what makes them qualified to do so.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/image.png\",\"width\":491,\"height\":328},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Unlikely Heroes: Who to See for Sleep Apnea Treatment\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ohio Dental Sleep Solutions |\",\"description\":\"\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0f93c3181afb628954830e6eda2c61a6\",\"name\":\"ohiodentalsleep\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Who to See for Sleep Apnea | Ohio Dental Sleep Solutions","description":"You probably wouldn\u2019t guess that your dentist can treat sleep apnea! Here\u2019s what makes them qualified to do so.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Who to See for Sleep Apnea | Ohio Dental Sleep Solutions","twitter_description":"You probably wouldn\u2019t guess that your dentist can treat sleep apnea! Here\u2019s what makes them qualified to do so.","twitter_image":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image.png","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/"},"author":{"name":"ohiodentalsleep","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0f93c3181afb628954830e6eda2c61a6"},"headline":"Unlikely Heroes: Who to See for Sleep Apnea Treatment","datePublished":"2025-11-03T15:39:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-11T15:41:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/"},"wordCount":491,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-300x200.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/","name":"Who to See for Sleep Apnea | Ohio Dental Sleep Solutions","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image-300x200.png","datePublished":"2025-11-03T15:39:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-11T15:41:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0f93c3181afb628954830e6eda2c61a6"},"description":"You probably wouldn\u2019t guess that your dentist can treat sleep apnea! Here\u2019s what makes them qualified to do so.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/image.png","width":491,"height":328},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/sleep-apnea-treatment-dentist\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Unlikely Heroes: Who to See for Sleep Apnea Treatment"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/","name":"Ohio Dental Sleep Solutions |","description":"","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0f93c3181afb628954830e6eda2c61a6","name":"ohiodentalsleep"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions\/54"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ohiodentalsleepsolutions.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}