Dental or Oral Appliance for Sleep Apnea

Dental appliances offer partial relief from the effects of sleep apnea while avoiding the CPAP or surgery. Some patients find that the dental appliance works well in combination with CPAP as well. Some patients are not good candidates for surgical relief due to the uncontrolled medical problem, these patients are good candidates for dental appliance, CPAP or combination. Oral appliances may target snoring or the interrupted breathing, or both. With a dentist fitted costume appliance, patients may improve to an extent that the quality and duration of sleep may improve. Oral appliances are also more portable, smaller, and easier to use than the CPAP option.

Dental appliances have limited role in treating sleep apnea. The Dental appliance will trust the lower jaw and tongue forward creating more airway passage. The dental appliance will not alleviate the obstruction and collapse of the stiffened/high resistance soft tissue in the soft palate and back of the throat. Research and testing has been performed to study the effects of oral appliances and some oral appliances are FDA-approved.

Mainly there are two types of dental devices for obstructive sleep apnea;

                1. Mandibular (lower jaw) Repositioning Device, this device trusts the lower jaw forward to increase airway passage behind the tongue only.

Somnomed

                2. Tongue Repositioning Device, this device pulls the tongue forward with out changing the position of the lower jaw.  This action will increase the airway space behind the tongue.

 

 

                                    

Research has shown changes in tooth and jaw position over times. Some patients may experience jaw joint (TMJ) or tooth stress, at which point readjustments would be necessary. Some patients have to give up their appliances because of these associated problems. Depending on the oral appliance you choose, side effects can include mouth dryness, excessive salivation, tooth or TMJ soreness, TMJ dysfunction syndrome, nausea, tooth damage, periodontal disease, repositioning of the jaw or teeth, and others. Talk to your Doctor about any side effects that are obtrusive.

In general Dental Appliances have a limited role in treatment of sleep apnea. Patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea might benefit more than the patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Dental appliances only address part of the airway blockage and not necessarily alleviate snoring. Dental appliances will not assist much with airflow in the stiff palate & throat musculature and the high resistance of the soft tissues.