Sleep Apnea Oral Appliance Vs Cpap

Oral appliances or dental devices in use by sleep medicine dentists for years are now fda approved as a first line treatment for mild moderate obstructive sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea oral appliance vs cpap.

However while extremely effective the cpap does not work for everyone. Continuous positive airway pressure therapy is the most commonly recommended treatment for sleep apnea. It looks similar to the mouthguard you d wear while playing sports. Health insurance will usually cover costs associated with an oral sleep apnea device.

The cpap machine was once the gold standard for treating sleep apnea but now the oral appliance is the go to method for those with obstructive sleep apnea. The device is small and fits right in your luggage. The question of which treatment may be better for someone with sleep apnea depends on a number of factors one of the greatest being their compliance with the treatment. Convenience cpap machines although considered very effective have a reputation for being inconvenient.

There s the machine itself a long hose and a mask or nasal pillow. Cpap machine vs oral appliance. When a patient does not take well to the cpap a dentist who specializes in sleep therapy may recommend an oral appliance. It simply moves your lower jaw forward to keep your.

Oral appliance therapy has emerged as an important alternative to continuous positive airway pressure cpap in treating patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome osas. An oral appliance is a less cumbersome alternative to cpap. In this study we report about the subjective and objective treatment outcome of oral appliance therapy and cpap in patients with osas. Here are the main differences between the oral appliance and the cpap machine.

If you have persistent symptoms of sleep apnea and don t use your cpap you should have a conversation with your sleep doctor to review alternative treatments including potentially using an oral appliance and trying some exercises as long as you do not have severe sleep apnea oral appliances are a good and effective alternative to cpap in treating mild to moderate sleep apnea. Travel with an oral appliance is easy. The sleep apnea oral appliance resembles a mouthguard. If you have mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea and can t tolerate or haven t been helped by cpap oral appliances may be an effective treatment option.

In the past physicians would only recommend these apnea mouthpieces as an alternative or secondary treatment for patients who could not tolerate cpap therapy and they are. Unlike cpap an oral appliance does not make any noise. Meaning that your spouse or partner will be able to get a restful night s sleep.