Dr. Martin Denbar doesn’t just treat patients—he saves lives. A pioneer in the field of dental sleep medicine, Denbar has spent decades on the front lines of innovation, education, and compassionate care. With more than 6,000 patients treated in Central Texas alone, his work has offered hope and healing to people who had nowhere else to turn.
A proud Houston native, Denbar earned his doctorate at the University of Texas School of Dentistry before joining the U.S. Navy Dental Corps and serving as a battalion dentist with the Marines, driven by his sense of duty for his country. After being discharged, he settled into a career of private practice. But everything changed when his wife inspired him to look into sleep apnea.
“She told me, ‘Honey, you’re snoring like the Northern Pacific. Did you stop breathing? You scared me half to death. Fix it,’” says Denbar. “So, I started researching the field and got into it in February 1995. With one other dentist here in Texas who is ex-Air Force, we brought the whole field here.”
Denbar went on to become a Diplomate with the American Board of Dental Sleep Medicine and helped write the organization’s first board examination. He initially integrated dental sleep medicine into his dentistry practice, but about 12 years ago, he made the shift to focus on it exclusively.
Now, he’s a non-principal faculty member at Texas A&M School of Medicine, has lectured for the sleep fellowship program at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and has published works internationally while continuing to develop effective treatment protocols.
“At first, I was considered a nut. I was an alternative dentist,” says Denbar. “Of course, now it’s all mainstream, and that’s a lot of school of hard knocks. But it’s been fun and I look back at the whole scenario with a smile.”
A leader in combination therapy, Texas Dental Sleep Services is recognized for its success in treating the “untreatables,” including patients with Parkinson’s disease, cardiac transplants, artificial jaw joints, and ALS. The practice is also fully endorsed by the VFW and the American Legion, with recent outreach to the Navy SEAL Foundation to connect with more veterans.
“It’s very self-fulfilling to take care of patients that nobody else could. It’s been a challenge, and there’s a lot of satisfaction in conquering those challenges,” says Denbar. “You’re actually changing lives.”
Discover what sleep apnea treatment can do for you at: texasdentalsleepservices.com