Dr. Bellamy owns the practice. She fits the appliances, runs the follow-up visits and writes to your physician after each step.
Oral appliances for sleep apnea
Your physician diagnoses. We make the appliance.
Greenbelt Airway Dental is two general dentists in Idaho Falls. We screen, we make the oral appliance your sleep physician recommends, and we keep your physician in the loop at every step.
The diagnostic path
Four steps, two offices
The diagnosis belongs to your physician. Our part is steps one, three and four.
- 01At our office
Step 1: Screening
A dental visit about your sleep, not a diagnosis. We ask about snoring and tiredness, look at your jaw, teeth and bite, and tell you what we saw. If it points toward a sleep problem, we write to your physician.
- 02With your physician
Step 2: Your physician's sleep test
Only a physician can diagnose sleep apnea, after a sleep test at home or in a lab. We don't order the test or read it. If an oral appliance fits your diagnosis, your physician sends us a referral.
- 03At our office
Step 3: The appliance
With the referral in hand, we scan your teeth, make the appliance for you, fit it and show you how to wear it and clean it.
- 04Both offices
Step 4: Follow-up
We adjust the fit and check your teeth, jaw and bite. Your physician decides whether to repeat the sleep test, and we send each visit's notes to them.
An appliance isn't right for everyone. If your physician recommends something else, we'll say so too.
What it is
A custom mouthpiece, worn at night
An oral appliance holds your lower jaw slightly forward while you wear it.
A sleep physician may recommend one for some adults with sleep apnea, including some who can't use a CPAP mask. Your physician and your dentist decide together, and a repeat sleep test is how you find out whether it's working for you. Results vary from person to person.
What to know
Worn at night and taken out in the morning
Made from a scan of your teeth
Adjusted over several visits
Jaw or tooth soreness is possible; we check for it every visit
Who does what
Where the physician stops and the dentist starts
Two offices share one path. This is the line between them.
| Step | Your sleep physician | Greenbelt Airway Dental |
|---|---|---|
| Diagnoses sleep apnea | Your sleep physicianYesAfter a sleep test | Greenbelt Airway DentalNoNever |
| Orders and reads the sleep test | Your sleep physicianYesYes | Greenbelt Airway DentalNoNo |
| Recommends an oral appliance | Your sleep physicianYesYes, with you | Greenbelt Airway DentalPartialAdvises on teeth and jaw |
| Makes and fits the appliance | Your sleep physicianNoNo | Greenbelt Airway DentalYesYes |
| Checks teeth, jaw and bite | Your sleep physicianNoNot their role | Greenbelt Airway DentalYesYes, every visit |
| Repeats the sleep test | Your sleep physicianYesYes, if they order it | Greenbelt Airway DentalNoNo |
Services
What the dentists do here
A dental visit about your sleep. It is not a diagnosis.
A custom appliance, made after a physician's diagnosis.
Fit checks, bite checks and notes to your physician.
How your jaw moves and how your teeth meet.
A custom guard to protect teeth from grinding.
For physicians
Referring a patient?
Tell us who is coming and send the sleep test report and your recommendation. We write back after the fitting and after each follow-up, so you see how your patient is doing.
The dentists
Two general dentists, one kind of care
Both dentists see every kind of patient on this path, and each follow-up note carries the name of the dentist who wrote it.
Dr. Lozano does the screening visits and the jaw and bite checks, and she makes the night guards for patients who grind their teeth.
Questions people ask first
More answers are on the questions page.
Do you diagnose sleep apnea?
No. A physician diagnoses sleep apnea, after a sleep test. We screen, we make the appliance a physician recommends, and we follow up.
Do I need a referral?
We ask for your physician's referral and sleep test report before we make an appliance. A screening visit doesn't need one.
Will my insurance pay for an appliance?
Some medical plans cover an oral appliance once a physician has diagnosed sleep apnea, and some don't. Your plan decides. We check before we make anything and give you a written estimate.
What side effects can an appliance have?
Jaw or tooth soreness, extra saliva or a dry mouth, and slow changes in how your teeth meet can happen. We check your bite at every follow-up. Tell us if it hurts and we adjust it.
I haven't had a sleep test. Can I still come?
Yes, for a screening visit. We can write to your physician, but we can't diagnose, and we don't make an appliance without a diagnosis.
Ask for a visit
Send a request and we'll call, text or email you back with a time. Please leave out health details; for anything urgent, call us.