Serena Sleep’s Elevate Appliance

Serena Sleep’s new, patented, FDA cleared dental sleep appliance named the “Elevate” was developed by Dr. Greg Ross, a Board-Certified Orthodontist and Diplomat of the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine. Dr. Ross suffers from sleep apnea and like many others, he could never wear a CPAP throughout the night. He tried many oral appliances but found none to be entirely comfortable and long lasting. He experienced that most oral appliances were bulky and had parts that protruded into the cheeks.

In his orthodontic practice, he digitally designs many in-house clear aligner treatments. He wanted to add a mandibular advancement mechanism to the aligners for his Class II patients while still correcting their malignment. While working on his designs it occurred to him, why not use this revolutionary idea for a new design to make an oral appliance to treat sleep apnea?

As soon as he created a device for himself, he found it was the most comfortable sleep apnea appliance he had ever worn. Instantly he knew this was life-changing for himself and it could also be for others. This was the start of the Elevate appliance.

The Elevate utilizes a patented mandibular advancement design using engagement blocks in the occlusal space, avoiding any buccal or lingual interference. The design of the occlusal blocks keeps the patient engaged (in protrusion) while offering freedom for lateral movement, adding to the appliances comfort, especially for lateral bruxers. The Elevate is designed to minimize teeth movement, which includes covering the terminal distal surfaces and anterior surfaces.

The Elevate’s custom design is made of 3D printed, clinical grade nylon material that is durable, flexible, and only 1mm thin. The low profile of the Elevate maximizes oral cavity space. Unlike other nylon appliances, the Elevate’s proprietary finishing process minimizes bacteria build up, making the appliance easy to clean and creating a “silky smooth” feel.

Advancement is easy with 3 upper and 3 lower trays for 9 titrations, or 2 upper and 2 lower trays for 4 titrations. The amount of advancement can be customized with either 1mm or 0.5mm increments. With the 9A design, there are enough trays to allow up to 7 mm of advancement as well as retrusion (negative advancement). The 4A design can be used for those who have a predetermined range of effective position; there are 4 trays allowing for fine-tuning for maximum efficacy and comfort.

The graph to the left shows the results of six consecutive patients in the orthodontist’s dental sleep medicine practice. Using NightOwl HSAT, the AHI was measured pretreatment and with the Elevate appliance after titration. The patients range from mild to severe OSA. Each patient’s AHI was reduced, and the patient with severe obstructive sleep apnea AHI was reduced by more than
fifty percent.

The Elevate is positioned to be a low cost, comfortable, highly effective oral sleep appliance.