Meet Dr Saleema Adatia, Founder of BreatheWell Sleep and Airway in Calgary

Dr. Saleema Adatia is a Calgary-based dentist and airway-focused clinician who has devoted her career to helping patients breathe, sleep, and live better. Her dedicated sleep practice, BreatheWell Sleep and Airway, has become a trusted option for people seeking a Sleep Apnea Clinic in Calgary, where residents can turn to her for comprehensive, personalized care.

From Physiotherapy To Dentistry

Before becoming a dentist, Dr. Adatia worked as a physiotherapist for almost four years, where she saw firsthand how chronic health problems limited her patients’ quality of life. She realized she wanted a more direct role in preventing disease, not just treating its consequences, and that insight led her back to school to pursue dentistry. After graduating from dental school in 2006, she returned home to Calgary to begin the next chapter of her career in clinical practice.

In 2013, she founded Symmetry Dental, a general dental practice built on evidence-based care and strong patient relationships. Over time, her interest in how oral health connects with whole-body wellness grew, and she began looking for ways to make an even deeper impact on patients struggling with fatigue, snoring, and disrupted sleep.

Discovering Dental Sleep Medicine

That path led her to a pivotal meeting with Dr. John Remmers, a renowned sleep physician and pioneer in the field of sleep medicine. At the time, she knew very little about sleep apnea or how dentistry could play a role, but the idea that oral appliances could be used as sleep apnea treatment without CPAP immediately captured her attention. In a single conversation, she saw how targeted dental interventions could help protect the airway, improve breathing at night, and reduce health risks for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Dr. Remmers later became both a mentor and a close friend, encouraging her to pursue advanced training and dedicate more of her practice to sleep and airway care. His legacy in sleep medicine, and his personal support, shaped her commitment to providing high-quality, evidence-based treatment options to patients who either struggle with CPAP or are looking for alternative, more comfortable solutions.

Building A Dedicated Sleep Apnea Clinic In Calgary

As word spread and more patients sought her help for snoring, sleep apnea, and airway-related concerns, demand for her services quickly outpaced what she could offer in a traditional general dental setting. By 2017, she was deeply involved in dental sleep medicine, and over the following years the need for specialized care grew to the point that a major decision had to be made. In 2025, she chose to sell her general dental practice in order to focus entirely on sleep-related breathing disorders and airway health.

That decision gave rise to BreatheWell Sleep and Airway, a focused sleep apnea clinic Calgary adults and children can access for comprehensive airway assessment, custom oral appliance therapy, and collaborative care. The clinic’s mission is simple but powerful: to improve health by treating the root causes of sleep-related breathing problems, not just the symptoms. For many patients, this includes exploring sleep apnea treatment without CPAP, such as custom mandibular advancement devices (sometimes called 'snoring mouth guards') designed to keep the airway open during sleep.

A Team Approach To Better Breathing

BreatheWell Sleep and Airway is designed as more than a traditional sleep clinic. Under Dr. Adatia’s leadership, the clinic brings together professionals who share a strong interest in sleep medicine, airway-focused dentistry, and whole-person health. Their collective goal is to provide up-to-date, research-backed interventions for patients with sleep apnea and airway-related challenges, while maintaining a warm, patient-centered environment.

Care often includes collaboration with other health providers to ensure that patients receive comprehensive evaluation and treatment plans. This team-based model allows the clinic to support a wide range of needs—from simple snoring to more complex sleep-related breathing disorders in both adults and children—while keeping each patient’s goals and comfort at the center of the treatment process.

Treatment Options Beyond CPAP

Many people arrive at BreatheWell Sleep and Airway because they have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea but find CPAP difficult to tolerate or impossible to use consistently. For these patients, Dr. Adatia offers customized oral appliance solutions ( aka snoring mouth guards) designed to reposition the jaw and support the airway during sleep. These devices can be especially helpful for those looking for sleep apnea treatment without CPAP, or for patients with mild to moderate sleep apnea who prefer a less intrusive option.

Her approach always begins with a thorough assessment, which may include a home sleep test & in person screenings to better understand symptoms and risk factors. From there, she works with patients and their medical providers to determine whether oral appliance therapy, lifestyle changes, or a combination of treatments will be most effective. The goal is not just to reduce snoring but to protect long-term health by improving oxygen levels, sleep quality, and daytime function.

Integrating Myofunctional Therapy And Airway-Focused Care

Recognizing that the airway is influenced by muscles, posture, and oral habits, Dr. Adatia’s clinic also emphasizes therapies that go beyond the teeth themselves. Myofunctional therapy focuses on targeted exercises to retrain the tongue and orofacial muscles, supporting healthier breathing patterns and more stable results from oral appliance therapy. This type of care can be especially helpful for children with sleep-related breathing issues, as well as adults with tongue posture problems or mouth-breathing habits.

For patients with suspected structural issues, such as restricted tongue movement, the clinic may explore whether a tongue tie release is appropriate as part of a broader airway plan. By addressing both structural and functional contributors to airway obstruction, the team can design treatment strategies that support long-term breathing, growth, and sleep quality.

Advanced Therapies, Including Therapeutic Botox

In addition to oral appliances and muscle-based therapies, BreatheWell Sleep and Airway also incorporates select adjunctive treatments when appropriate. For certain patients, therapeutic botox may be used in a targeted, medical context—for example, to help manage muscle tension, bruxism, or other conditions that can contribute to jaw discomfort and interfere with sleep. When used as part of a comprehensive plan, these advanced options can enhance comfort, support appliance wear, and improve overall treatment outcomes.

Every intervention is grounded in current research and tailored to the patient’s needs, medical history, and goals. This evidence-based approach ensures that each recommendation—from oral appliances to gentle palate expanders to myofunctional therapy or therapeutic botox—is part of a thoughtful, integrated strategy rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.

Putting Patients At The Center

What stands out most about Dr. Saleema Adatia is her ongoing commitment to patient-centered care. From her early days in physiotherapy to her years as a general dentist, and now as the founder of a specialized sleep apnea clinic Calgary residents can rely on, she has consistently focused on prevention, education, and collaboration. Patients are encouraged to ask questions, participate in their treatment decisions, and understand the “why” behind every recommendation.

For anyone who suspects sleep apnea, struggles with CPAP, or is simply tired of snoring affecting their nights, BreatheWell Sleep and Airway offers a clear starting point. Visitors can schedule a consultation to explore options ranging from sleep apnea treatment without CPAP to myofunctional therapy, craniofacial evaluation, tongue tie release, and therapeutic botox. Under Dr. Adatia’s guidance, the clinic is dedicated to helping patients breathe easier, sleep more deeply, and reclaim the energy needed to live well.

👉 Book a sleep and airway assessment at BreatheWell Sleep in Calgary today to find out whether a custom oral appliance and/or another airway-focused therapy is right for you.