Sleep Better, Feel Better

A mandibular device is an oral appliance that repositions your lower jaw while you sleep. This keeps your airway open and helps reduce most snoring and sleep apnea.¹

It's typically recommended for patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea or those who cannot tolerate CPAP therapy. 

Many patients notice improvements in snoring and sleep quality almost immediately. Long-term results for sleep apnea vary based on individual anatomy and adherence to use. 

BlueSleep provides virtual diagnosis and treatment of snoring and sleep apnea. Their board-certified specialists have diagnosed and treated over 20,000 patients for sleep apnea, snoring and other sleep disorders. 

Sleep apnea is also associated with attention deficits, memory problems, brain fog, but also associated with high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, mood disorders, and many other chronic diseases. Treatment of sleep apnea with custom-made medical mouth guards, or CPAP, can help prevent the development of many of these conditions..¹

Oral appliance therapy for sleep apnea works by preventing the lower jaw and tongue from falling back in your throat when asleep. The deep part of the throat is referred to as the “airway” in medical terms, and is generally narrow. Being overweight, having a narrow jaw, a large tongue, large tonsils, or other anatomic variants that narrow the throat is a risk for developing obstructive sleep apnea. Oral appliances fit on the upper and lower jaw and keep the lower jaw in a favorable position that allows the airway to remain open when asleep, especially during deep sleep and REM sleep. This can be an effective treatment for sleep apnea. The effectiveness is confirmed with home sleep testing when the appliance is in place at night. 

Snoring is very common and is often associated with sleep apnea, especially if you snore very loudly for much of the night and can be heard outside of the bedroom. If friends or family complain about your snoring, take it seriously. 

BlueSleep performs sleep apnea and snoring evaluations online. We’ve treated over 20,000 sleep patients. Simply go to BlueSleep.com to make a convenient appointment with one of our providers. We accept most insurances (Aetna, Cigna, Oxford, United, Blue Cross, GHI, Medicare, and others). 

You’ll likely need a home sleep test if you haven’t had one within the last few years. We are currently using personal disposable home sleep tests that will be shipped to your home after an online consultation with our sleep specialist. Home sleep tests are covered by insurance only when prescribed by a health care provider and only when necessary due to a high suspicion of sleep apnea. 

A second telemedicine visit is scheduled to review the results of your sleep test and discuss treatment options. If you choose treatment with an oral appliance, you can either go to one of our facilities for a digital scan of your teeth or we’ll ship a home impression (mold) kit. Our staff will assist you with the dental impressions during a scheduled virtual visit. 

If you choose treatment with CPAP, we’ll arrange for a CPAP company to deliver the equipment to your home. Insurance usually covers this treatment, and the CPAP provider will verify coverage for you. Once you’ve received the CPAP, you’ll make an appointment with our sleep specialist to review the use and efficacy of the treatment. 

Insurance coverage for oral appliance treatment requires a diagnosis of sleep apnea and symptoms other than just snoring. Our staff and billing team performs pre-authorization for in-network coverage of the treatment and communicates with you regarding any financial responsibility, which may include copays, coinsurance, and deductibles, prior to ordering the appliance. 

We’ll then ship or email the impressions to the dental lab or manufacturer to make your appliance. You should know that Blue Cross and Medicare limit the types of appliances they will pay for - this is beyond our control. If you want a different type of appliance, not covered by Blue Cross or Medicare, this becomes a self-pay service. We’ve made thousands of oral appliances for our patients, and we work with many manufacturers and dental labs. 

We’ll ship the appliance to your home and schedule a virtual fitting session with our staff to instruct you on its use and care. If you require in person adjustments, we’ll schedule a visit in one of our facilities. 

The time it takes for you to receive your oral appliance depends on how quickly your insurance provides a pre-authorization, and how quickly the lab manufactures the appliance. The process can take as little as 2 weeks, and as long as 3 months or more for some payers. 

We’ll ship a home sleep test usually 4 to 8 weeks after you’ve started using the appliance and have adjusted it according to the quality of your sleep. We suggest using the "Snore Lab" app on your smartphone, in addition to observations from your bed partner, and your overall daytime function and energy levels; to help you titrate (adjust) your appliance. 

Virtual or in person visits are scheduled every 6-12 months thereafter to assure proper efficacy of the treatment, and proper fit of the appliance. If you have any questions, please contact help@bluesleep.com. 

The first time using your oral device, insert it one hour before bedtime. After an hour, if you’re not having sensitivity or pain, attempt sleeping with the device in place. If it’s too sensitive, remove and try again the next night. Repeat this process until you’re able to comfortably wear the device for one hour before falling asleep. Then reduce the amount of time to 15 minutes before bedtime. 

There are many factors that determine the time for you to get your device. The first is that if you are using your medical insurance, we must obtain a pre-approval from your medical insurance to cover the cost of the treatment. This can take from one to four weeks, and sometimes longer. This is the longest step in the process, and depends on the insurance company's response. Once we have the approval from your insurance, we transmit the digital file of your impressions to the lab. The production time takes from one to three weeks. Once the device has been produced, it’s shipped to your home. You’ll receive your device 4 weeks or more after you’ve had your dental scan. Longer delays are due to delays with insurance company pre-authorizations. If you’re not using medical insurance, then you can get your appliance within one to two weeks.