Are Oral Appliances as effective as Nasal CPAP in controlling positional Sleep Apnea?
A study is cited in the current Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine showing equal benefits for positional sleep apnea (apnea that is worse in when sleeping on your back vs sleeping on your side).
Research is exploding regarding the efficacy of oral appliances in treating sleep apnea. Customized, adjustable oral appliances are being shown to be as effective as CPAP in many well-researched studies.
So which treatment is best?
If you aren’t able to use your CPAP throughout the entire night, the benefits to your health may be lacking.
One recent study found that the use of CPAP for 4 hours per night (as many due) is completely negated by sleeping the remaining 4 hours without it (taking it off at 1-2 am and falling back to sleep for several hours). Consistency of use is critical to get the benefits in cardiovascular (heart problems), blood sugar (diabetes, insulin resistance), blood pressure, mental functioning, and other benefits from either a CPAP or oral appliance.
Both patients and bed partners tolerate oral appliances better than CPAP in many surveys.
If you use CPAP but take your CPAP off during the night, DON’T!
If you “can’t stand it” all night or some nights, consider having an oral appliance made by a credentialed Dentist in Sleep Apnea and TMD. that you can use any time you take your CPAP off. The oral appliance can also be used for travel, camping, or other trips where you don’t want to carry your CPAP along or electricity is unavailable.
Contact us for an evaluation for an Oral Appliance to help manage your Sleep Apnea/Snoring condition.
Mandibular Advancement Device as a Comparable Treatment to Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for Positional Obstructive Sleep Apnea
http://dx.doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.6048
