Dental Device

[Deano]

[Mtnviewer]

I use a dental device (Klearway) with my PAP therapy. However, I no longer use it to pull my jaw forward but only to help keep my jaw closed / mouth shut, as I found this to be FAR FAR more hlep than the useless, painful and long term damaging jaw advancement. At this point, I may also be using it for a placebo effect, sort of like the comfort blanket of Linus (Charlie Brown).

Jaw advancement, IME, cannot overcome gravity pulling against the soft tissue in a supine position. In a side sleeping position, there is less gravity to pull and to close the airway, so jaw advancement, again IME, is uselsss, or of little help etc.. Of more help to me than the over priced oral appliance that I got, was discovering the HUGE benefit from side sleeping and avoiding the supine / back sleeping position. Long term jaw advancement can produce significant and negative health side effects, and I'd advise extreme caution, lots of research, and using it only as a last resort. Changing one's bite and no longer being able to chew food properly is a serious health risk, not to mention the discomfort and or future pain. So choose your poison wislely vs. emotionally.

If you search the forum, there are other threads. Few people seem to benefit from the dental devices. It may work for you. I had hoped that it would for me and my extreme hope clouded my ability to make a good decision. By all means try one, but start with inexpensive devices first, and be very cautious with significant jaw advancement.

But first, I'd also suggest to video record your sleep over a few nights to see exactly what your mouth, jaw, sleep is FACTUALLY like vs. what you "THINK" it's like. After all, we are unconcious when we sleep and many things happen over 6-8 hours of our sleep. Video recording is the only way to really see what you are doing and to try and help find solutions. Software data and oximeter results are also of great help, but really only point out that there is a problem and when it happened, vs. identifying the actual cause(s). Otherwise you are just guessing at causes and more frustratingly for solutions. Trial and error takes so much time and is exhausting and can be greatly reduced by video recording your sleep. Search for video recording etc., for options on how to do this.

[harry33]

THESE DENTAL DEVICES SELDOM SEEM TO HELP MUCH, AGREE RE MOSTLY PLACEBO EFFECT BENEFITS, many eventually get a CPAP and use both together

possibly dental device is worth tring for mild apnea if not too expensive for you

[azmanatheart]

Mtnviewer,

Glad I read your post, 'my' neurologist suggested I go buy an overpriced jaw advancement device. NOT. He also suggested uvuloplasty as one of 3 choices, the last being CPAP.

Questions- How do you record 8 hours of video with a regular camcorder? Mine uses a 30 minute DVD, which probably will only record me trying to get comfortable, much less sleeping. Do you know of a way to make it run slower? Can I use my Phone camera or some other device. Seems like only a sleep study can get me a full night of film? I, too have positional sleep apnea, its is over 60 AHI/hr on my back, but only about 15 on my side or belly. But side sleeping s just not enough, and my therapy doesn't seem to be working(memory loss, dizziness, takes about 2 hours to become alert upon arising) Seems the same with cpap or without, so I'd like to seee what is happening, possibly get an oximeter. My insurance now has a high out of pocket up front before a 50/50 coinsurance, so a new sleep study is out.

Tell me again why half this country thinks the exisitng health care system is good?

Thanks,