Mandibular Advancement Surgery Can Effectively Treat Your Sleep Apnea and Snoring Symptoms When Other Treatments Don’t

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At Igel Orthodontics we address all breathing concerns identified during your orthodontic consultation. Having teeth and jaws misaligned can diminish airways and prevent optimal breathing. Dr. Kort Igel takes into account any possible airway disorders with airway orthodontics.

With our advanced technology, Dr. Igel can analyze your facial structure, nasal passages, sinuses and jaw development before implementing orthodontic treatment. Sleep apnea can be treated with orthodontics to reap optimal long-term health benefits. This is important because when the body consistently can’t get enough oxygen flow, it can end up with numerous health problems.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Health Problems

  • Daytime drowsiness and fatigue
  • Memory loss
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Irritability
  • Morning headaches
  • High blood pressure
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke

Mandibular Advancement Surgery

There are times when airway issues aren’t successfully treated using orthodontics or sleep apnea oral devices. In such cases, mandibular advancement surgery may be needed to solve your breathing issues and treat your obstructive sleep apnea. This surgery involves pushing the jaw forward to effectively open up the breathing airway and improve your oxygen consumption while you sleep. This is accomplished by increasing the space behind the soft palate and tongue and widening the nasal and mouth airway passages. In fact, mandibular advancement surgery is one of the most effective ways to overcome sleep apnea and chronic snoring.

Maxillo-Mandibular Advancement Surgery

This surgery is also performed after other treatments that did not provide adequate relief, whether that was wearing a mandibular advancement device, a tongue retaining device and even using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). This surgery also offers relief for patients who have severe jaw malformations as well as those who have moderate to severe apnea. Thanks to Maxillo-Mandibular Advancement (MMA) surgery, you can also finally find the relief you are looking for in the way you speak, eat, and look.

Maxillo-Mandibular Advancement (MMA) surgery can reposition your jaw in a forward position so you can have more room for your tongue and soft palate while you sleep. It takes about an hour for the surgery and several weeks to recover and feel completely healed from the operation. Within just a few months, most patients find that Maxillo-Mandibular Advancement (MMA) surgery is truly one of the best ways to improve not only their OSA symptoms but their quality of life! The MMA technique has also proven effective for treating mild-to-moderate cases of OSA with a near 90% long-term success rate.

What To Expect During the MMA Procedure

This jaw surgery is also one of the best ways to stop snoring. It can also help with TMJ, speech problems, overbites, underbites, and aesthetic issues. The surgery corrects issues with the structure of the jaw. Special instruments will be used to free your upper and lower jaws which are then advanced together with plates or screws which hold them in position. Braces will be placed on the teeth and rubber bands will be added to maintain stability.

As an adult with sleep apnea or problems with craniofacial anatomy, Dr. Igel may recommend using MMA when braces alone may not work since your facial bones are no longer growing. By combining surgery and airway orthodontics, Dr. Igel can help you receive optimal facial changes and solve your sleep apnea issues. To learn more about treating your sleep apnea or jaw issues, please call us at (402) 330-1152 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Kort Igel in Omaha, NE.