Impressed with dental device so far

[Billy6]

Since I am self pay and on the road betwwen 40-60 nites per year, I decided to get the dental device and since my dentist just bought the equipment, I was his first guinea pig so he only charged me $500. It is what is called a mandiblular advancement device and it pushes the lower jaw forward. He suggested I use both the device and my CPAP for 7-10 day to let my mouth and jaw get used to it. I was comfortable to wear and didnt hurt my jaw, and I noticed right away it was much easier to sleep on my back. So, we'll see what happens over the next few months as I test it, but I'm committed not to lug the machine around anymore when I'm on the road

[cjulia]

just be careful with this type of device as they are known to cause TMJ problems over time. My wife is a dental assistant and she says every time they make one of these, the patients end up coming back with TMJ. Of course, my ENT says he has been using one for 3 years with no problems so just monitor it carefully.

[WearyOne]

Congratulations, I'm glad it's working for you and I hope it continues to do so without any negative side effects. And if you do continue to use it and do so without CPAP, it might be a good idea to have a new sleep study with only the dental device to make sure it's working well enough. Or an at-home overnight pulse/ox study. (You could even purchase a recording one to keep track of it on your own.)

Since my RDI was 19 (low moderate range), I had a consultation with a dentist who specializes in the dental devices for OSA. This was a couple of weeks after I had started CPAP. He said I was a good candidate for it, but said he only recommended it for folks who couldn't tolerate CPAP or who traveled a lot and didn't want to take the CPAP machine with them when traveling (and they were only using it for travel). He stated CPAP was the best answer to OSA and since it seemed to be working for me and I didn't travel, he recommended against the dental device. Now, since he lost business by telling me that, I tended to believe him!

Please let us know how it continues to work for you.

Pam

[kempo]

I used one of these for a couple of months several years ago. It stopped me from snoring but I started to have TMJ problems.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stop-Snoring-Apnea- ... ltDomain_0

[nobody]

So how is it going? Have you had another sleep study to see if it really works for you?

[jdm2857]

You might be able to ascertain if the device is working by wearing it along with your APAP, with the minimum pressure set to 4 (or a bit above if you feel starved for air). The absence of both events and pressure increases would indicate that the device is indeed treating your apnea.

[elena88]

oh that is nice you got a deal on it, and I hope its going to continue to work well for you as you travel so much..

My husband got a very, very expensive one from our dentist, but it hurt his jaw so much to wear it.. it fell of the dresser and the puppy
ate it..

so be careful where you put yours.. its easy to take them out when you are half asleep, and not remember.. maybe have a little special
dish or bowl on your night stand to stick it in... so you dont have to fool with the carrying case all the time..

good luck, sleep well!


elena

[Goofproof]

Since I am self pay and on the road between 40-60 nites per year, I decided to get the dental device and since my dentist just bought the equipment, I was his first guinea pig so he only charged me $500. It is what is called a mandiblular advancement device and it pushes the lower jaw forward. He suggested I use both the device and my CPAP for 7-10 day to let my mouth and jaw get used to it. I was comfortable to wear and didnt hurt my jaw, and I noticed right away it was much easier to sleep on my back. So, we'll see what happens over the next few months as I test it, but I'm committed not to lug the machine around anymore when I'm on the road

It's easy to want to be committed, without any facts to back your on the road treatment, all you have is feely to go by. Not very scientific, I smell De-Nile! At least use a recording pulse Ox to bet some data. It will be cheaper than being a bug on a oncoming semi's windshield. Jim