Will you tell me whether I have sleep apnea?

We will tell you whether your history and examination suggest you should be tested, and help arrange it. The diagnosis itself comes from a physician reading your sleep study. That boundary is deliberate.

My physician prescribed CPAP. Do I need a dentist at all?

Not if CPAP is working and you are using it nightly — that is a good outcome. A dental sleep consultation becomes relevant when CPAP is not tolerated, when adherence has quietly lapsed, when you want an option for travel, or when jaw pain and grinding are also present.

Do you work with my physician or instead of them?

With them. Oral appliance therapy sits inside medical management of a diagnosed condition, so the sleep study, the diagnosis and confirmation of treatment effectiveness all involve your physician. We share records and outcomes rather than working in parallel.

Sleep Apnea Dentist in New York

A dentist has a real and well-defined role in obstructive sleep apnea, and an equally well-defined boundary. Understanding both saves time — it tells you what to expect from a dental sleep appointment, and it tells you when a practice is claiming more than it should.

What a dentist can do

A dentist trained in dental sleep medicine designs, fits and titrates custom oral appliances, manages the side effects and bite changes that come with them, and provides long-term follow-up. They can recognise the signs that prompt testing — tooth wear from grinding, scalloped tongue borders, a crowded oropharynx, a narrow arch — and can perform screening and help arrange a home sleep test. They can also evaluate and treat the temporomandibular disorders that so often travel alongside disordered breathing.

What a dentist cannot do

A dentist does not diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. That determination comes from a physician interpreting a sleep study, and it is not a technicality — it is what separates treating a diagnosed medical condition from selling a device for a symptom. A dentist also does not manage the medical consequences of untreated apnea or prescribe CPAP. If a dental practice offers to diagnose your sleep apnea, that is a reason to look elsewhere.

The credential that distinguishes this work

General dental training covers sleep-disordered breathing barely, if at all. The specific credential is Diplomate status with the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine, which requires documented case experience and examination. Dr. Samadian holds it. Ask any practice offering appliance therapy which qualification they hold and when it was awarded — the answer is verifiable and distinguishes a focused practice from one that has added a service line.

Why treating the jaw and the airway together matters here

Most dentists offering sleep appliances do not treat temporomandibular disorders, and most clinicians treating TMJ do not manage airway. That gap is where people get stuck: an appliance advancing the mandible nightly can aggravate an unexamined joint, while a night guard for grinding can leave an airway problem untreated and occasionally worsen it. This practice is built around treating both, which is the reason the assessment covers both before anything is made.

Common questions

Will you tell me whether I have sleep apnea?: We will tell you whether your history and examination suggest you should be tested, and help arrange it. The diagnosis itself comes from a physician reading your sleep study. That boundary is deliberate.
My physician prescribed CPAP. Do I need a dentist at all?: Not if CPAP is working and you are using it nightly — that is a good outcome. A dental sleep consultation becomes relevant when CPAP is not tolerated, when adherence has quietly lapsed, when you want an option for travel, or when jaw pain and grinding are also present.
Do you work with my physician or instead of them?: With them. Oral appliance therapy sits inside medical management of a diagnosed condition, so the sleep study, the diagnosis and confirmation of treatment effectiveness all involve your physician. We share records and outcomes rather than working in parallel.

Not sure where to start?

Request a virtual consultation with Dr. Samadian. In-person visits are by appointment in New York.

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