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Vivos DNA Appliance

The Vivos DNA (Daytime Nighttime Appliance) system provides trained dentists a way to work with medical doctors to correct obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Apnea is a nighttime breathing problem that results in lowered oxygenation of a patient’s blood. This lowered oxygenation can contribute to a number of dangerous physical conditions and many other uncomfortable symptoms. 


Sleep disordered breathing can cause a long list of health problems, some that can be quite dangerous. A person that suffers from any of the following sleep apnea symptoms might actually be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea without knowing it.

  • Memory loss
  • Confused thinking
  • High blood pressure
  • Respiratory problems
  • Cardiovascular problems
  • Asthma
  • Heartburn
  • Depression
  • Increased cholesterol
  • High blood sugar
  • Diabetes
  • Fatigue
  • Daytime sleepiness
  • Difficulty focusing
  • Obesity
  • Mouth breathing
  • Dry mouth on waking

How Can We Help You?

As you can see, sleep apnea symptoms go far beyond simply being tired during the day. The good news is that sleep apnea can be remedied without surgery or a lifetime of dependence on a CPAP machine. Remedying this problem requires finding a practitioner who is trained in using the Vivos DNA Appliance system to bring about a structural change that relieves obstructive sleep apnea.


Obstructive sleep apnea is one of a few types of sleep disordered breathing. Millions of people are experiencing sleep apnea symptoms but don’t get it diagnosed. They may only think that they snore loudly at night. Maybe they feel tired during the day and think they are just starting to get a little older. In actual fact, their upper airway obstruction during sleep is depriving their body of the oxygen it so desperately needs and that leads to the list of symptoms above.

Correct Examination and Diagnosis

The first step in relieving obstructive sleep apnea is a correct examination and diagnosis. A qualified dentist can examine a sleep apnea patient and take a medical history, current information and 3D images to determine if there is an upper airway obstruction during sleep. A dentist who has been instructed on how to use the DNA Appliance system to modify the physical structure of the jaws and mouth knows how to provide non-surgical treatment for this problem, if this examination shows that the patient suffers from sleep apnea. 


In coordination with a medical doctor, this diagnosis can be confirmed and Vivos appliance therapy can begin.

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Teeth Clenching and Sleep Apnea

Many people with sleep apnea also grind their teeth at night, usually without knowing they are doing it. The relationship between teeth grinding and sleep apnea is not well understood. It’s possible that teeth grinding is a response to the stress of apnea. The fact is that many people who develop sleep disordered breathing will soon after begin to grind their teeth. Whatever the relationship, it is important to resolve teeth grinding as soon as possible, before the teeth can be badly worn down. 


The general concept and roll of the Vivos DNA appliance is to prevent damage from teeth grinding while it resolves the lack of structural development that caused the apnea and teeth grinding in the first place.

Vivos DNA Appliance Works for Children and Adults

family smiling

Many orthodontic dentists recommend pulling a child’s teeth to remedy a situation where crowding is making the teeth crooked. This is no longer the only solution. 


In most cases, having crowded teeth is a symptom of underdeveloped jaws. We don’t yet know all the reasons that some people’s jaws grow to their full and proper dimensions. It is thought that perhaps a steady diet of soft foods while one is growing up contributes to this lack of development. It is also possible that babies who do not nurse don’t use the muscles of the jaws as much as nursed babies. This could lead to less skeletal development. 


The Vivos DNA Appliance can correct this underdevelopment by encouraging growth in both the upper and the lower jaws. This growth can take place at almost any age. Even senior citizens can benefit from this treatment. 


The results are the same at any age — a more open airway, resolution of sleep apnea, improvement of TMJ symptoms, more oxygen during sleep and lowered nighttime stress. This reduction of stress during sleep can improve other health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes or keep these problems from developing.

TMJ Symptoms and Their Relationship to Sleep Apnea

Very often, these two conditions derive from the same physical situation: poorly developed jaws and palate. This lack of development means that the lower jaw is not in perfect alignment with the joints that sit on either side of the head right in front of the ears. 


As the dimensions of the jaw improve, the lower jaw will also take on a new position in relation to the TMJ (temporomandibular joint). This can mean better sleep; less face, jaw or neck pain; fewer headaches; and even reduced mouth breathing. You may soon be able to stop waking up with a parched mouth as you also recover from sleep apnea.

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Better Breathing, Better Sleep, Less Daytime Sleepiness

As the shape of your upper and lower jaws changes, the size of the oral cavity increases. This provides more room for the tongue so it does not slip to the back of the throat while you are sleeping. Your airway can finally remain open all night and you can get more restful sleep. 


When your sleep apnea is relieved, your sleep is more restful. Your body is not dealing with the stress of low oxygen, gasping, partly waking up and straining to get enough air. Patients being treated for sleep apnea with Vivos appliance therapy soon find that they feel better and are more awake during the day. They may no longer need naps. They can focus better on their work or study during the day.

Wearing the Vivos DNA Appliance

When you are being treated for sleep apnea, you will wear this daytime nighttime appliance during the evening hours and during your sleep at night. Most patients quickly get accustomed to the feel of the appliance in their mouth. It is constructed to fit securely over the teeth in the upper jaw. 


Some people think that because this device looks somewhat like an orthodontic retainer that it will cause aching like braces do when they are adjusted. The pressure the DNA appliance therapy exerts on the bones of the mouth is milder than the pressure braces exert on the teeth. It is unlikely that there will be any aching or unpleasant sensation during DNA appliance therapy. 

A Holistic Answer for Sleep Apnea

There are many solutions on the market for sleep apnea. Some of them are incredibly invasive and others are not. The best solution is one that works with the body and that corrects a structural problem that actually exists and can be diagnosed. 


Some of the surgeries that are recommended to correct sleep apnea include trimming away the soft tissue around the throat and cutting all the way through and repositioning the lower jaw bone. Any time there is surgery, there is a risk of complications and infections. 


Other treatments include relying on a CPAP machine every night. Many people fail when they try to use a CPAP machine. They find that they are too uncomfortable wearing the mask all night. Other people are uncomfortable experiencing the continuous air pressure the CPAP creates. If a person is able to tolerate the CPAP machine, they must continue to use this device every night, no matter where they may travel to. 


Another approach to dealing with sleep apnea is wearing an appliance in the mouth that attempts to hold the lower jaw in a forward position. Again, this must be worn every night forever because this device does not correct the situation, it only copes with it. 


A holistic approach to treating sleep apnea means that the actual cause of the apnea is addressed. This type of treatment is noninvasive and helps the body develop an ideal width for both the upper and lower jaws — the width the body should innately have been able to achieve. 

Don't Hold Off Treatment, Get Your Night's Rest Now

The Composition of the Vivos DNA Appliance

mrna appliance

The appliance you receive as part of this treatment will be a 3D printed form composed of clear acrylic and precisely-engineered metal parts. A device in the middle of the appliance enables you to adjust the width and length of the device. Once every week or two, at your dentist’s instruction, you insert a small key into a wheel built into the appliance. You give it the recommended number of turns (a half turn, whole turn or as directed) and the appliance expands. 


As it expands to the left and right or from front to back, gentle pressure is applied to the bones in the upper jaw. Some patients receive an appliance for the lower jaw as well. 


This pressure and slight stretching of the bone brings about an increase in bone cell activity. This increased activity results in growth of new bone. 

Possible Benefits of Vivos Treatment:

  • Avoidance of surgical treatment.
  • Prevention of tooth wear from bruxism.
  • Better tooth alignment.
  • Resolution of tooth grinding.
  • A final resolution of sleep apnea.
  • Resolution of migraine headache causes.
  • Restoration of proper TMJ positioning.
  • Opened nighttime airway.
  • Relief of neck and shoulder pain.
  • Greater ease of breathing around the clock.
  • Less or no snoring.
  • Better daytime wakefulness.
  • More alertness and ability to focus.
  • Treatment is time-limited.
  • Don’t have to use a CPAP forever.
  • Don’t have to wear an anti-snore appliance forever.
  • Removable appliance permits normal meals.
  • Better sleep quality.

You can look online for Vivos DNA appliance reviews and see the success other people have had recovering from sleep apnea. By choosing this non-invasive solution for your sleep apnea, you can one day add your own Vivos DNA appliance review to those already online! 

The Function of the Vivos DNA Appliance

This device has three separate but important functions: 


  1. It acts as a night guard to keep a person’s teeth from grinding at night so the teeth don’t get worn down. 
  2. It applies pressure in multiple directions to expand the shape of the palate. 
  3. It also acts as a retainer, keeping the teeth and bone in the right positions as they expand. 


The goal is to encourage growth of the bone until it achieves the dimensions that it would have achieved under ideal growth circumstances during the body’s original growing period. In other words, your body knows how wide the upper and lower jaws are supposed to be but it may have stopped growing prematurely. 


When bone growth results in expansion to the dimensions intended for your body, that growth will stop and the bone will stabilize. The Vivos DNA appliance utilizes this innate knowledge in your body to achieve ideal dimensions of your facial bones and oral cavity that can support healthy air flow day and night.

Relieving Bruxism and Preventing Tooth Damage

By wearing the Vivos appliance while you sleep, you are also protected from the worn down teeth that result when you grind your teeth at night. The Vivos treatment plan can also correct the structural problems that cause a person to grind their teeth. Thus, the Vivos DNA Appliance can be a solution for nighttime or daytime bruxism.


This bruxism can not only wear down teeth but it can also aggravate the TMJ and cause headaches, jaw pain and muscle spasms. 


Some people who grind their teeth at night without knowing it can wear their teeth down so far that the only solution is to place crowns on all the teeth or remove the teeth and provide dentures.

Vivos DNA Appliance,

Before and After

Photos taken before and after Vivos DNA treatment make it plain that the shape of the upper and lower jaw bones responds to repeated use of the appliance. As you progress through your own treatment, you will be able to see your own Vivos DNA Appliance, see before and after treatment photos and see how the shape of your face changes as bone growth occurs.

Call our office at 301-818-2653 or request a consultation below.

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Vivos DNA appliance before and after

More about Vivos DNA Device Therapy, Sleep Apnea Dental Appliance and Oral Appliances

FAQs

  • What Is Sleep Apnea?

    This is a disorder that occurs during sleep because a person’s upper airway becomes blocked as they try to breathe. The usual reason given for this problem is that the person’s throat relaxes too much which partially closes the airway. Then the individual struggles to take in air at night, which disturbs their sleeping. Their blood oxygen saturation drops to levels that stresses the body. This continuous stress affects the heart, blood sugar and brain, resulting in the symptoms you see above.


    New discoveries have shown that the problem for most people is actually a poorly developed upper jaw and lower jaw that don’t leave enough room for the tongue during sleep. Because of the narrowness of these structures, the tongue drops to the back of the throat at night. It’s actually the tongue that partially blocks the upper airway. 


    When the bones of the upper jaw and lower jaw can be encouraged to grow with the Vivos DNA appliance system, there can finally be enough room for the tongue to rest in the mouth during sleep. The airway is opened and nighttime blood oxygen levels remain normal. 


    Medical solutions for sleep apnea have long included reliance on a CPAP machine or even surgery of the throat or lower jaw. The Vivos DNA appliance resolves this situation so no surgery or CPAP machine is needed any longer. 

  • Causes of Sleep Apnea

    The primary cause of sleep apnea is incomplete development of the upper and lower jaws. This lack of development means that there is a narrowed oral cavity and airway. There must be enough room in this upper airway for the person to breathe during sleep. 


    There can also be other contributing factors. Being overweight, using alcohol or sedatives, smoking, or having certain medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure, can contribute to sleep apnea. On the other hand, sleep apnea itself contributes to problems like diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The way to break this vicious cycle is to be examined for the correct cause and get a sleep apnea therapy and treatment.


  • What the DNA Appliance Looks Like

    If you have ever seen a retainer worn by a teen who had completed their orthodontic treatment, a DNA Appliance will look similar. It is, however, a more sophisticated device and is based on the most recent discoveries in treating sleep apnea. 


    The DNA Appliance is carefully designed to fit the mouth of a person who suffers from an underdeveloped upper jaw, lower jaw or both. The device can be adjusted by the patient at home so it gradually expands. The dentist who prepares the appliance for the patient will provide instructions on how to enlarge the appliance and how often to make this expansion. 


    As it expands, it exerts gentle pressure on the bones, which encourages growth. Even mature adults can experience bone growth that resolves their sleep disordered breathing. 


    A patient starts with an appliance that fits into their upper jaw. Some patients will also need an appliance that fits into the lower jaw. The device is worn during the evening and while sleeping. Bone growth is then encouraged all night long.

  • How the Vivos DNA Appliances Opens the Airway

    While there are surgical methods of opening the airway, the Vivos DNA appliance opens the airway simply by encouraging bone growth of the upper and lower jaws. Sleep apnea patients will soon learn that they can actually grow more bone, no matter what their ages. 


    As the oral cavity grows larger, there is more room for the tongue. It no longer has a tendency to fall to the back of the mouth during sleep, and have airway obstruction. The airway remains open, sleep apnea is relieved, and the nighttime oxygen levels do not dip to dangerous levels. 


    Three dimensional scans can actually reveal the improvement in the width of your airway over time. Your dentist can show you your progress as you proceed through Vivos DNA treatment.


  • What Therapy with the Vivos DNA Appliance Is Like

    After an examination and diagnosis of sleep apnea in coordination with your dentist and a medical doctor, DNA appliance therapy is very simple. You will be provided with an appliance to be worn fitted to the upper teeth and hard palate. This appliance should be worn for at least 10 to 12 hours each day. For most people, this means that they fit the appliance in after dinner and wear it until they get up in the morning. 


    Some people will be provided with a lower jaw appliance as well. A dentist trained on the Vivos DNA appliance therapy technology will make the determination on what is needed to get the best results in your case.


    At the time intervals recommended by your dentist, you will move the small wheels embedded in the appliance to cause it to change shape. Week by week, the appliance will get larger in very small increments. This expansion stimulates growth in the bone of the upper and lower jaws. You will also be provided with a small key to use to turn these wheels and instructed on just how much to make them move with each adjustment. 


  • How the Vivos DNA Appliance Gets Its Results

    By imposing a light, constant pressure on the bones in key areas, bone in those areas will be stimulated to grow. This is very different from the type of treatment done in orthodontics. In that case, the pressure imposed on the teeth by the braces is much firmer. A person may suffer some pain and headaches when orthodontic appliances are tightened. The pressure of a Vivos DNA appliance is much lighter. 


    Everyone knows that children’s bones in the upper and lower jaws can be changed with orthodontic treatment. A similar principle applies here. Years of research and experience has proven that adults of almost any age can also benefit from this increased bone growth. Even mature adults can see the shape of their upper and lower jaws, cheekbones and even their overall faces change shape. 


    The Vivos DNA appliance can cause the upper jaw to grow wider and longer front to back. The oral cavity can also grow taller. As this happens, the tongue has more room in which to rest during sleep. This larger oral cavity prevents the tongue from slipping into the back of the throat. This helps keep the airway open. 


    It’s all about directing the position of the tongue into the right location, especially during sleep.


  • What Your Dentist Can Accomplish with Vivos Treatment

    Your dentist can assist your body in achieving its ideal shape and width of the oral cavity, which can resolve many problems. Primary among these is giving your tongue enough room in which to rest while you sleep. This enables your airway to remain open all night long so you get the best sleep possible.


    Your dentist can also protect the condition of your teeth and eliminate the need for traumatic treatments such as surgery or extractions. For example, because the Vivos DNA appliance is a non-surgical treatment, you can avoid getting surgery to artificially open the airway. This kind of surgery involves the removal of soft tissues around the opening to your throat — this tissue is called your soft palate. Your body needs these tissues, however, so their removal causes problems like bits of food escaping into your airway. This can make you cough convulsively. 


    Your dentist may find it possible to correct your bite without extractions when your palate becomes wider or longer from front to back. As your upper jaw and lower jaw both widen, you will have more room for your teeth if you now have crowded teeth. 


    Extracting teeth is a typical way to approach correcting a situation like crowded teeth, followed by orthodontic treatment. But if your upper jaw and lower jaw are wider, you may be able to avoid these extractions. An examination by a dentist trained in using the Vivos appliance therapy is a good idea before orthodontic care starts. 


    The main goal is improving your nighttime breathing, but as you can see, there are many other benefits possible from this treatment. 


  • The Cost of Vivos DNA Therapy

    The Vivos DNA appliance cost will vary from community to community. The best way to find out what your cost for DNA appliance therapy would be is to contact a dentist who is trained in providing this care. 


    An examination and imaging of your bone structure will reveal whether or not you suffer from sleep apnea due to an upper airway obstruction. This will tell you if you can benefit from the Vivos DNA appliance system. Your dentist can then tell you the cost of your own customized treatment program.


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