New patients are quickly booked for an initial 60 minute consultation. We can likely see you within 7 days. You will be sent a detailed consultation questionnaire, which provides helpful sleep, medical and lifestyle information. Any previous sleep studies, sleep specialist reports or CPAP reports will be necessary. Your assistance with obtaining these from your healthcare providers is appreciated. Our staff will advise you how to contact your private medical/extended and dental insurance provider to enquire about benefit coverage for sleep testing and treatment. During the consultation we will listen to your concerns, screen for common sleep and breathing disorders, assess for initial dental appliance suitability, review the consultation questionnaire and your medical history, explain the diagnosis and sleep study process, demonstrate several possible treatment options, review our services and fees as well provide you with a comprehensive new patient package that details everything!

 

For those who have not had a recent sleep/breathing study, most patients elect to complete a home sleep/breathing test and take the equipment home that day. This saves you another trip to our office to pick up the home sleep/breathing test equipment. Following one or two nights testing, the equipment is returned. We download the data, review the results with you and give you a copy. In accordance with Provincial Medical Guidelines, the study will also be submitted to an accredited sleep physician for interpretation and final diagnosis. It usually takes 7 – 10 days to receive the sleep physician report. A copy of the results and interpretation are provided to you as well as your primary care physician. Medical guidelines require that your family (primary care) physician approves any treatment and provides a prescription; whether a dental appliance or CPAP is provided. This is also necessary for reimbursement by private medical/extended insurance.

 

With the sleep study results and sleep physician diagnosis; we can then provide recommended treatment options. Generally patients with only snoring or mild –moderate sleep apnea can proceed to the treatment phase and obtain an oral appliance. For patients with moderate – severe sleep apnea; we encourage you to discuss the results with your primary care physician and consider a trial of CPAP. For anyone who is CPAP intolerant, or remains symptomatic in spite of CPAP use; we would be pleased to review the issues and complete an assessment for dental appliance suitability. The Canadian Thoracic Society Sleep Apnea Guidelines state appliances are an appropriate alternative therapy for patients who are CPAP intolerant.

 

If an oral appliance is required and the patient selects this option, additional appointments are then scheduled. The treatment appointment includes a detailed examination, x-rays, airway exam and diagnostic records as well as dental impressions. It takes two weeks to have a custom made dental appliance fabricated. The following appointment we will assess the appliance for fit and comfort, confirm the jaw position for airway opening and instruct you on the use and care of the appliance.

 

A number of check appointments then follow over the next two months. Once the patient is happy with the results, we feel the snoring or sleep apnea is likely correctly treated, we complete a post-treatment sleep study. Test results and a report are then provided to your primary care physician and dentist.

 

Snoring may be stopped but sleep apnea can remain.

 

Once the post-treatment sleep study confirms a successful result, we schedule an annual follow-up appointment.

 

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