Take-Home Sleep Study Canterbury | Melbourne Cost & Referral

Do you wake up tired no matter how long you slept? Have you been told you snore, or that you seem to stop breathing at night? Maybe it's not sleep at all, it's jaw pain, headaches, or teeth grinding that brought you here. Whatever the symptom, we look at the full picture before we treat anything, and sometimes that means recommending a home sleep study to understand what's happening while you rest.

If a sleep study is the right next step for you, we do it in-house. Instead of a hospital stay, you take a small kit home, wear it for one night, and go about your evening as normal.

Breathing, sleep, jaw function and facial development are all connected. A sore jaw, worn teeth, or headaches that keep coming back can be signs of something happening while you sleep. They're not separate problems on their own. That's why we don't just treat what's in front of us. We look for the cause.

Dentistry has an important role to play, because we often see the early signs through your mouth, teeth and jaw during a routine check-up. If we notice grinding, a tight or clicking jaw, or unusual wear on your teeth, we may suggest further investigation.

Our approach brings together TMJ assessment, airway evaluation and sleep health as part of one process. When it's useful, we recommend a home sleep study to diagnose what's happening overnight and add clear, objective data to what we're seeing clinically. It's one part of a bigger picture, and one of the tools we use to work out what's really going on.

In some cases, patients come to us for something else. They might have jaw pain or trouble sleeping, for example. We'll discuss their concerns and decide together whether or not a sleep study is the right next step.

If we see signs that point to a sleep-related breathing issue, we'll recommend an at-home sleep study. You won't need an outside sleep study referral; we handle the whole process in-house, from your first consult through to your results.

Some patients leave with a treatment plan that doesn't involve a sleep study at all. It depends on what we find during your assessment.

A take-home sleep study, also called a home sleep apnoea test (HSAT), looks at how you breathe and sleep overnight from your own bed.

A traditional sleep study means staying overnight in a hospital, wired up to monitors at your head, chest and heart. It's effective, but uncomfortable, and the polysomnography cost at a hospital or sleep lab is often high. We run things differently, with a small kit you take home and wear for one night in your own bed.

You'll get two small devices and a phone app, along with short instructional videos that walk you through set-up. It records:

Brain activity (EEG) for accurate sleep staging
Blood oxygen levels
Heart rate
Snoring
Movement and head position

We run these studies in-house using the Somfit device, which means faster results and one less thing for you to organise.

A note from Dr Julie Ghaly, Principal Dentist

"I did the sleep study myself. I was waking after eight or nine hours still feeling unrefreshed, and I wanted to know what was actually happening, my oxygen levels, interruptions to my sleep, any snoring or apnoea that needed treating. The kit is cleverly designed: two small devices and a phone that records the data, with short videos showing you how to set it up at home." — Dr Julie Ghaly, Principal Dentist

The test picks up obstructive sleep apnoea, how badly you snore, and dips in your blood oxygen through the night. For us, it also answers a dental question. When we can see how your airway and body behave overnight, we get a clear reason for jaw pain, clenching, or grinding, rather than guessing at it.

Signs Worth Getting Checked

You might benefit from a sleep study if you notice any of the following:

Loud, regular snoring
Someone has seen you stop breathing in your sleep
You wake up still tired, even after a full night
Morning headaches
Feeling sleepy through the day, even after resting
Jaw pain, clenching or teeth grinding

Did you know? If you grind your teeth and you're simply given a grinding splint, it can actually make sleep apnoea worse. That's why we ask about your sleep and, where it's warranted, recommend a home sleep study, so we diagnose what's really happening before we treat it. — Dr Julie Ghaly, Principal Dentist

If you've wondered how much does a sleep study cost in Australia, ours is $290, and that covers the kit, the report from an Australian Sleep Physician, and a telehealth appointment to talk through what it all means.

Keep in mind that the test is not covered by Medicare or by private health insurance. You will need to pay the full amount upfront.

We take care of the sleep study in-house using the Somfit device. You get results faster, don't need a sleep study referral, and won't have to sleep overnight at the hospital. So, if you are curious and want to know how to test for sleep apnoea, request a sleep study today.

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Take Home Sleep Study