Dental device

How well do dental devices work I have mild osa at 14 times a hour and was thinking about giving a dental device a shot concidering my apap has been an absolute battle for the last months anyone seen good results with the dental appliance ? Thanks!

Dgriffin333 wrote:How well do dental devices work I have mild osa at 14 times a hour and was thinking about giving a dental device a shot concidering my apap has been an absolute battle for the last months anyone seen good results with the dental appliance ? Thanks!

Recently, I posted on this site, https://myapnea.org/, asking for updated efficiency information since two sleep medicine dentists post there. I never received a response. Maybe you want to see what you can find out?

A 2011 link I used to post said that they generally worked well for mild OSA 75% of the time in getting the AHI below 5. That was the for the TAP adjustable appliance.

As an FYI, I tried on and found it more uncomfortable than the mask. But obviously, your mileage will vary. You might want to buy a cheap appliance and see if you can tolerate sleeping with something in your mouth before making a major commitment.

Best of luck.

49er

My wife and I both went through a sleep study when our dentist asked us to go through it. I had severe apnea (score of 73) my wife had a score somewhere around 40. My dentist sent me straight to a pulmunologist for a CPAP and took impressions of her for a dental device. After using it for a few weeks he had her do another study. Her number are now are around 10. He was able to adjust it to a point that she is now considered treated (below a score of 5). It will depend upon how severe your sleep apnea is and how you respond to the device. It is worth a try.

All it did for me was painfully alter my bite and it did not even reduce my snoring, let alone my Apnea. I would warn you away from them.

DonO - it is unclear whether your wife is using Cpap and a device simultaneously.

Wife is on denial device alone. I'm the only one in the house on cpap

Dgriffin333 wrote:How well do dental devices work I have mild osa at 14 times a hour and was thinking about giving a dental device a shot concidering my apap has been an absolute battle for the last months anyone seen good results with the dental appliance ? Thanks!

I can only tell you my experience. It may or may not work for you.

My first symptom was hypertension, but within 3 years I was so fatigued that I struggled to stay awake driving home. Then my husband noticed I would stop breathing repeatedly while sleeping. After my first sleep study, the Dr. told me that my apnea woke me on average 5 times per hour, plus snoring woke me another 2 times per hour, but it was too mild for insurance so he wouldn't write a prescription for a cpap. My husband then found a non custom dental appliance for about $70. I instantly started sleeping better, my blood pressure dropped back down to normal, and I could concentrate and be productive again. It worked so well that my husband ordered one for his snoring, and my brother, whose AHI is around 60, ordered one for use on sailing and camping trips so he didn't have to haul his cpap with him. I haven't heard if my brother is still using his, but I know my husband is with no issues at all. I, on the other hand, eventually did have enough shifting of my teeth after 6.5 years, that I needed braces to correct my bite. Whether or not you will have issues with your teeth probably depends on your genetics.

Anyway, after a second sleep study with a different doctor, I've now had 10 years of successful cpap therapy. I credit the mouthpiece, though, with giving me the knowledge of how much could be fixed with effective therapy, that I was able to be persistent about finding a way to make cpap work for me. I hope you find what works best for you.

Thanks for the input everyone!!!

DonO wrote:Wife is on denial device alone. I'm the only one in the house on cpap

I know it's just a typo, but . . .

I had an adjustable device made by a dentist .... caused a lot of pain and did not do much for apnoea .

I now use a boil and bite , snore stopper , along with my vpap machine.
It helps with mouth breathing and also holds my lower jaw forward a little ... not enough to cause discomfort.

chunkyfrog wrote:

DonO wrote:Wife is on denial device alone. I'm the only one in the house on cpap

I know it's just a typo, but . . .

Darn spell check. If anyone mentions the typo, I will deny it.