Sleep Apnea Treatment San Francisco | UNO DENTAL SAN FRANCISCO

What we treat

Sleep-disordered breathing we address.

Sleep apnea is more than loud snoring — left untreated, it strains your heart, raises blood pressure, and steals years of restorative sleep. These are the conditions we most often help patients manage from the dental chair.

Obstructive sleep apnea (mild-moderate)

When the tongue and soft tissues collapse during sleep, blocking the airway. A custom oral appliance can hold the lower jaw forward enough to keep the airway open.

Chronic, disruptive snoring

Snoring loud enough to wake a partner — or yourself — is often a sign of upper-airway resistance. Even without a formal apnea diagnosis, a snore-guard appliance can help.

CPAP intolerance

Patients who have tried and abandoned CPAP because of mask leaks, claustrophobia, dry mouth, or travel hassle. Oral appliance therapy is recognized as a first-line alternative.

Daytime fatigue and morning headaches

Waking up exhausted, dry-mouthed, or with a dull headache often points back to disrupted breathing at night. We coordinate with your physician to investigate.

Bruxism linked to airway issues

Many patients who grind their teeth at night are doing it as a subconscious airway-opening reflex. Treating the underlying breathing problem often resolves the grinding.

Travel and supplemental therapy

For patients who use CPAP at home but want a smaller, mask-free option for flights, hotels, or camping trips, a custom appliance can serve as a backup.

How we treat it

Treatment options at UNO.

Our role is the dental side of sleep medicine — building, fitting, and adjusting the appliance, then partnering with your physician on the rest. We do not order or interpret sleep studies; we treat what they reveal.

Custom mandibular advancement devices (MAD)

A precision oral appliance worn only at night that holds the lower jaw slightly forward, opening the airway behind the tongue. Fabricated from digital impressions, adjustable in small increments, and built to last several years with normal care.

Snore guards (non-apnea)

For patients without a formal apnea diagnosis whose snoring still disrupts a partner's sleep, a simpler night-time appliance can dramatically reduce the noise — and protect against the tooth wear that often accompanies open-mouth breathing.

Co-management with sleep physicians

We work directly with your sleep physician (or refer you to one we trust if you do not have one yet). Diagnosis, severity grading, and post-treatment efficacy testing happen on the medical side; fitting, titration, and follow-up happen with us.

Bite and jaw protection follow-up

Wearing any oral appliance long-term requires monitoring. We check the fit, screen for tooth movement, and watch for TMJ symptoms at every cleaning visit so issues are caught early.

Why UNO

Why patients choose UNO for dental sleep care.

Sleep apnea sits at the crossroads of medicine and dentistry — picking the wrong provider can mean an ill-fitting appliance, a missed diagnosis, or a snore guard that does nothing. Here is what is different at UNO.

Jackson Square location

Our office sits at 498 Jackson Street in San Francisco's Financial District — a quick walk from Embarcadero BART, North Beach, and the Ferry Building. Validated parking is available a block away.

Doctor-led care

Dr. Amjad Kandar (lead clinician, dual DDS) personally oversees every treatment plan. Independently owned — you see the same dentist, every visit.

Modern technology

Digital X-rays at a fraction of conventional radiation, intraoral scanning instead of goopy impressions, and next-day crown restorations when appropriate — comfort and precision built in.

Honest, conservative care

We do not over-treat. If a condition can be monitored, we monitor it. If you need a second opinion before committing to anything, we will say so out loud.

Common questions

Frequently asked.

A few of the questions we hear most often. If yours is not here, reach out — we are happy to talk before you book.

For mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep apnea and primary snoring, well-fitted mandibular advancement devices have strong evidence behind them — the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recognizes them as a first-line option for patients who cannot tolerate CPAP. For severe apnea, CPAP usually remains the gold standard, but an oral appliance can serve as a backup for travel or partial nights.

Yes. We need an objective sleep study — either an in-lab polysomnography or a home sleep test ordered by a physician — to confirm the diagnosis, establish a severity baseline, and guide treatment. We do not diagnose sleep apnea ourselves; we treat the dental side of it in coordination with your sleep doctor.

A custom oral appliance is fabricated from precise digital impressions, adjustable in small increments to find the position where your airway stays open, and built to last years. Boil-and-bite drugstore guards are one-size-fits-all, often loosen quickly, and can shift teeth in unintended ways. We do not recommend them for diagnosed apnea.

Sleep apnea oral appliances are usually covered under medical insurance — not dental — when there is a documented diagnosis and a physician's letter of medical necessity. We help patients with the paperwork. CPAP-intolerance documentation strengthens the claim. A snore-only appliance (no apnea diagnosis) is typically out-of-pocket.

After your consultation and review of your sleep study, we take digital impressions; the lab fabricates the appliance in roughly two to three weeks. You return for fitting, and over the following weeks we titrate it forward in small steps until your sleep partner notices the snoring stops and your symptoms improve. A follow-up sleep study confirms efficacy.

For procedures that require deeper relaxation while we work on your appliance or any related dental work, our sedation dentistry options are available. Some patients experience temporary jaw soreness or bite changes in the first weeks — usually mild and self-resolving. Long-term, regular check-ups let us catch and correct any drift early. We screen carefully for TMJ history before recommending an appliance, and patients with significant jaw-joint disease may not be good candidates.

Process

How dental sleep care works.

No. 01

Screening & physician referral

A 30-minute screening visit covers your symptoms, sleep history, and existing diagnoses. If you have not been tested for sleep apnea, we coordinate a home sleep study or refer you to a sleep physician we trust. Diagnosis comes from medicine; appliance therapy comes from us.

No. 02

Custom fabrication

We take a digital scan of your teeth and bite, design the mandibular advancement device with the specific titration starting position your physician recommends, and have it custom-milled. Delivery is typically 2–3 weeks.

No. 03

Titration & follow-up

Once the appliance is delivered, we titrate the jaw position over several weeks until snoring or apnea events resolve. Your physician then orders a post-therapy sleep test to confirm efficacy. We monitor fit, bite, and TMJ at every cleaning long-term.

Investment & Financing

Transparent pricing.

Initial consultation and screening is $250. A custom mandibular advancement device runs $1,800–$2,600 depending on appliance brand (TAP, EMA, SomnoDent, etc.). A simpler snore-only guard is $700–$1,100. Titration visits are bundled into the appliance fee for the first six months.

Many medical plans cover oral appliance therapy when prescribed for diagnosed sleep apnea — we provide the documentation and codes for you to submit, and most patients are reimbursed 50–80% of the device cost. CPAP-intolerant patients often have the strongest case for medical coverage. HFD and CareCredit financing are available if you prefer to spread the cost.

Book Online → Call 415-397-2804

Sleep apnea treatment in San Francisco.