Anyone try dental device for apnea?

[caryrae73]

I have mild apnea and had the choice of a cpap or dental device. I choose the cpap thinking it may be the better of the two. I have been using my cpap for just over a month now and always have leaking around the mask every night which wakes me up each time so I don't get a good night sleep. I have tried 3 different masks. I am wondering if I should have tried the dental device first.
1) As anyone here been using one or tried one, how does/did it work for you?
2)Is it possible to switch to a dental device even though I got the cpap?
3) Will insurance cover the dental device if I already got the Cpap?
4) Is the dental device covered under medical or dental insurance?

[SleepyToo2]

I have a dental device that does help, but because I have severe apnea it won't take me down to an AHI below 5. Whether your insurance will cover a dental device, and how, is a question only your insurance company can answer.

As for the leaks, if you look on CPAP.com you will see there are a gazillion different interfaces you could try, with many of them having at least 3 sizes. There will be at least one that fits your particular face and sleeping habits, so you need to work with your DME to find the right size and form that does. It is rare to find that the first suggested mask is the one, and many people keep trying. I think I found the right one for most times in my fourth year of treatment. Sometimes it leaks, sometimes I have a dry mouth, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because of those things.

Spend some time during the non-sleep hours adjusting the mask until you have it right. You should be able to remove the mask without losing those settings; when you go to bed it will be much easier to get the fit right.

[jaye8898]

I have Medicaid (choosing a managed care plan is required in my state) as my insurance while I'm unemployed. My sleep doctor told me if I could not tolerate the CPap they would cover a dental appliance or surgery (which I ruled out and my doctor does NOT recommend because of the fail rate). It's my understanding it would not be for the best since my OSA is not mild.

When I had Kaiser as my employer's group insurance, it was possible to do both. I actually went to the specialist and was sitting in the chair when they gave me a disclosure/disclaimer to sign that talked about everything that could go wrong...including needing extensive dental work due to teeth shifting/bite change.

I personally don't care for dentist visits so I opted out and promptly left. If you can tolerate the CPap and find the right mask (there are so many options!) I would definitely stay with that but each person knows how much dental "risk" they can tolerate!

[chunkyfrog]

I tried over 20 masks before I found a comfortable one that fit properly.
3 is not so many. Few have as many fails as I.

[ChicagoGranny]

I have mild apnea

Give us some details about your diagnosis.

[danielqk]

In my case, pressure of cpap can be reduced (2cmH2O) if wearing oral appliance during cpap therapy.

[johnthomasmacdonald]

I have a dental appliance that was custom made by my dentist ( i can get the brand name if interested - began with a K- something like kevlar) and it pushes the lower jaw forward. Based on in hospital sleep tests it does little to nothing on its own in lowering my ahi score. However i've found empircally that if i use it with my cpap machine ( i use an ASV machine), the pressures are much lower and my ahi scores are MUCH lower ( 5-10 cpap alone to many nights of ZERO with an average of <1 with machine + dental appliance). I can also tell whether these scores are physiologically relevant - No cpap/no dental appliance I have to get up to urinate at least 10 times a night - once over 20 times - with huge volumes of unconcentrated - clear odorless, urine; CPAP/no dental appliance - i get up 3-5 times with moderately concentrated urine; CPAP/dental appliance - i get up zero to once or twice at most with very concentrated Dark urine

good luck

[ChicagoGranny]

very concentrated Dark urine

You need to figure out what is wrong. See - http://health.clevelandclinic.org/2013/ ... fographic/

[LisaSch]

I tried that first. I paid 500 dollars. It did not work. I drooled all over myself and felt it was kind of gross. Maybe it works for some people. I did not like it.

[Sclark08]

I paid $1500 for a Tap 3 Dental device didn't do anything for me. But I also have TMJ which didn't help.