Can a dentist diagnose sleep apnea?

No. Sleep apnea is diagnosed by a physician, usually with a sleep study. A dentist can notice signs, ask questions, and help you get evaluated. If you are diagnosed, an oral appliance made by a dentist may be one of your treatment options.

I snore. Should I bring it up at my next visit?

Yes. Snoring is common and is not always a problem, but it is worth a conversation, especially if you wake up tired or someone has noticed pauses in your breathing.

My child snores or breathes through their mouth. Is that worth mentioning?

Yes. In children, snoring, mouth breathing, restless sleep, grinding, and bedwetting can be linked to breathing during sleep. Dr. Mike Bennett evaluates children's sleep and airway and works with your child's pediatrician and regular dentist.

Does insurance help with any of this?

Often, yes. Sleep and airway care is billed to medical insurance where appropriate. For dental care, we file your claims for you, many PPO plans pay toward out-of-network care, and you get the cost in writing before treatment. Insurance and payment

Will you share information with my doctor?

Only with your permission. When it helps your care, we send your physician or specialist a written summary of what we found.

FOR OUR PATIENTS

Your mouth is connected to how you sleep, breathe, and feel.

You know us for cleanings and checkups. Our doctors also spend a lot of time on how the mouth connects to sleep, breathing, the jaw, and the rest of the body. This page is a short guide to that side of our work, and to the reading we have put together for you.

What we watch for Keep reading

Why a dentist often notices first.

Most people see their dentist twice a year. At those visits we look closely at things few other doctors check: how the teeth are wearing, how the jaw moves, the tongue and the back of the throat, and whether the gums look dry from breathing through the mouth.

These are small clues. On their own, they do not mean something is wrong. Together, they can point to a sleep, breathing, or jaw problem that someone has lived with for years without a name for it.

That is why it is worth mentioning sleep, snoring, headaches, or jaw pain at your next visit, or today, if something on this page sounds familiar.

Five places dental care meets the rest of you.

1. Sleep

Snoring, waking up tired, or a partner who notices pauses in your breathing can be signs of sleep apnea. Only a physician can diagnose sleep apnea, usually with a sleep study. When it is diagnosed, a custom oral appliance made by a dentist is one treatment option, and it can be a good fit for people who cannot use CPAP. How oral appliance therapy works

2. Breathing

Breathing through the mouth, a stuffy nose that never clears, or a narrow upper jaw can all change how air moves at night. Some of these have a dental side we can help with. Others belong with an ear, nose, and throat doctor or an allergy specialist, and we will tell you which is which.

3. The jaw and headaches

Jaw pain, clicking, morning headaches, and tight facial muscles often share a cause. Before suggesting anything, Dr. Mike Bennett looks at the joint, the muscles, the bite, and sleep together. TMJ and facial pain care and headaches

4. Grinding and clenching

Worn or cracked teeth are usually treated as a tooth problem. Research has also linked grinding during sleep with breathing problems in some people. A night guard protects the teeth, but it is worth asking why the grinding started.

5. Gums and the whole body

Gum disease is an infection. Researchers have found links between gum health and conditions like diabetes and heart disease. Healthy gums are one of the simplest things you can protect for your mouth and the rest of your body. Periodontal care

And in children

Snoring, mouth breathing, restless sleep, grinding, and bedwetting can be signs of a breathing problem during sleep. Dr. Mike Bennett evaluates children's sleep and airway and works alongside the child's pediatrician and regular dentist. Children's sleep and airway care

IF WE NOTICE SOMETHING

What happens next.

Nothing happens without a conversation first, and you decide what comes next. You can start that conversation at any visit.

STEP 01
We ask.

A few questions about sleep, snoring, headaches, or jaw pain. No tests unless they make sense for you.
STEP 02
We explain.

We show you what we saw and what it might mean, in clear and simple words. Sometimes the answer is that nothing needs to be done.
STEP 03
We connect.

If another doctor should be involved, we tell you who and why. With your permission, we share our findings with them.

We work alongside your other doctors.

Problems with sleep, breathing, and jaw pain rarely belong to one specialty. Good care often takes more than one doctor. We do not replace your physician, and we will not treat something that belongs in someone else's hands.

Sleep physicians diagnose sleep apnea and order sleep studies. When an oral appliance is the right treatment, we make it and coordinate follow-up with them.

Ear, nose, and throat doctors (ENTs) look at the nose, sinuses, tonsils, and throat when those are part of the picture.

Allergy specialists help when ongoing congestion makes breathing through the nose hard.

Neurologists and physical therapists are part of the team for some headache, jaw, and neck pain.

Pediatricians and orthodontists stay involved when the patient is a child.

When another provider sends a patient to us, they receive a written summary of what we found, with the patient's permission. When we suggest you see someone else, we explain why before you go. Providers can learn more on our referring providers page.

THE DOCTORS

Three doctors, one conversation.

Your care stays in one practice. Each doctor brings a different focus, and they talk with each other about your plan.

RESEARCH AND TEACHING

Questions worth studying.

Dr. Mike Bennett coauthored a 2025 multicenter study on treating sleep apnea in children, published in the European Journal of Pediatrics. He also teaches other dentists about airway and sleep through More Than Teeth.

Read about his research

Keep reading.

Everything here is written by our team for patients. Read it now, or come back to it at home.

Sleep and breathing

The jaw, face, and headaches

Everyday guides from the Patient Education library

See the full Patient Education library

How we work

COMMON QUESTIONS

What people ask us.

Short answers to the questions we hear most about sleep, breathing, and jaw pain.

Can a dentist diagnose sleep apnea?

No. Sleep apnea is diagnosed by a physician, usually with a sleep study. A dentist can notice signs, ask questions, and help you get evaluated. If you are diagnosed, an oral appliance made by a dentist may be one of your treatment options.
I snore. Should I bring it up at my next visit?

Yes. Snoring is common and is not always a problem, but it is worth a conversation, especially if you wake up tired or someone has noticed pauses in your breathing.
My child snores or breathes through their mouth. Is that worth mentioning?

Yes. In children, snoring, mouth breathing, restless sleep, grinding, and bedwetting can be linked to breathing during sleep. Dr. Mike Bennett evaluates children's sleep and airway and works with your child's pediatrician and regular dentist.
Does insurance help with any of this?

Often, yes. Sleep and airway care is billed to medical insurance where appropriate. For dental care, we file your claims for you, many PPO plans pay toward out-of-network care, and you get the cost in writing before treatment. Insurance and payment
Will you share information with my doctor?

Only with your permission. When it helps your care, we send your physician or specialist a written summary of what we found.

KNOW SOMEONE WHO SHOULD READ THIS?

Pass it along.

If this sounds like a friend or family member who snores, wakes up with headaches, or lives with jaw pain, share this page. New patients can reach us at (801) 758-2443. Have a question about your own care? Ask at your visit or call the office at (801) 375-1414.

Text this page to someone New patients: (801) 758-2443