(1) CPAP Pro; (2) Dental Appliances

jimbo27 · Post by **jimbo27** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 1:57 pm

Hello everyone,

Thank you for building such he great site-especially for us newbies (January 18, 2007). I have two questions and I hope you can give me some advice.
(1) as anyone tried the CPAP Pro? This device was made by a patient with obstructive sleep apnea. I am reading about all the problems most of you seem to face with you on masks and I wondered if you have any reaction or heard anything about this device(see http://www.cpappro.com). Unfortunately, it does not seem to be available for sale on https://www.cpap.com. However the manufacturers office is no more than 30 minutes from where I live and a more native by the should give it a try but it seems kind of expensive for my first mask. I am the other hand if you get a mass it doesn't work, what's the use of having the machine?

(2) has it been any discussion about dental(oral) appliances? Does anyone have an opinion about whether they work for severe obstructive sleep apnea? There are two dentists in my area{encino, ca.) Dr. Friedman and Dr. Kirkorian who have separate offices and sell devices(supposedly advanced as opposed to ancient!) they claim are safe and effective for sleep apnea. The cost for a high each of their programs is about $5,000.[ There is another dentist about 30 miles from here who seels a device made by OASYS (see their website at http://www.oasys.com) who is also claiming to have some success. I I understand that the FDA has checked into some of these devices and given their approval but I don't know if it's the "gold standard" for obstructive sleep apnea. Any thoughts in this regard?

Jim

CollegeGirl · Post by **CollegeGirl** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:18 pm

The "gold standard" for sleep apnea for apnea is still CPAP. However, there have been people who have had success with dental appliances when they just absolutely could not tolerate CPAP.

I don't know much about dental appliances; however, Talk About Sleep (another informative board) offers a Dental Medicine forum that includes discussions on dental devices for apnea. Here's the link: http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/message-boards/

In my opinion, the CPAPpro is not even worth a second glance. The vast majority of users who have tried it report that it is flimsy and falls apart quickly, and that it just does not work. Go up to the top of this page, click the search button, and in the keywords box type "cpappro" (without the quotes). You'll find lots of threads about this, and very few positive reports.

One board regular, however, rustynail, did have some success with it. There's a great thread of hers here that might offer some insight:

viewtopic.php?t=2162&highlight=nomask

Personally, I wouldn't risk it. It's far too expensive and the group of people who have not liked it at all is far too large for me to consider it a good investment.

snork1 · Post by **snork1** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 2:54 pm

$5000 is WAY too high for a dental sleep apnea device.
I paid $1700 for my "modern" TAP Titanium.
The highest quote I got was $3000......$5k is highway robbery.

CPAP is the gold standard.

Cpap pro is a disaster for about 99.999% of the people that try it, although you wonder where they get all their testimonials.

Dental devices work for some people, and not for others, just like CPAP, but for different reasons.

This forum does not tolerate discussing dental devices. I suggest browsing through the dental sleep medecine section of http://www.talkaboutsleep.com if you interested in hearing the good and the bad.

MarkM · Post by **MarkM** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 9:23 pm

Generally, dental devices are recommended for mild to moderate apnea.

Just looking at the CPAP Pro, it would appear that it would be difficult to keep your lips together to prevent leaks.

5000? Not unless that includes sleep studies, and you don't really know if the device is working without one.

Dentist for 24 years. CPAP wearer for one week.