Sleep Apnea is a serious problem that literally destroy your quality of life!
There are many excellent comfortable treatments for sleep apnea.
CPAP is considered the Gold Standard of Treatment but it doesn’t work for the majority of patients. Studies have shown that 60% of patients abandon CPAP and only 25% use it all night on a regular basis.
There a better alternative for patients who do not want or cannot tolerate CPAP.
Oral Appliances are now considered a first line treatment for treating sleep apnea and snoring.
Treatment of Sleep Apnea and Snoring is now available in Highland Park.
I became involved in treating Sleep Apnea with oral appliances in the early 1980’s and became a visiting assistant professor ar Rush Sleep Disorder Service in 1985 where I did research into jaw position and sleep apnea. As a founding member of the Sleep Disorder Dental Society (SDDS) I was in the forefront of Dental Sleep Medicine. The Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine was an outgrowth of the SDDS.
Untreated sleep apnea can effect the nervous and vascular systems and increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke, migraines, chronic pain, slow metabolism and many other problems.
Treatment is essential.
A new article in Sleep and Breathing discusses sucess of oral appliance therapy.
Oral appliance in sleep apnea treatment: respiratory and clinical effects and long-term adherence.
Abstract
PURPOSE:
There is an increasing tendency to use oral appliance (OA) as an alternative treatment for sleep apnea. Here we report the long-term adherence and clinical effects of OA therapy.
METHODS:
All sleep apnea patients treated at the Department of Dentistry between the years 2006 and 2013 (n = 1208) were reviewed. A questionnaire about OA adherence, asthma symptoms (Asthma Control Test™, ACT), and general health was sent to all patients who continued OAtherapy after the 1-month follow-up visit (n = 811). OA was adjusted to obtain at least 70 % of the maximal protrusion of the mandible.
RESULTS:
The response rate was 37.4 % (99 women, 204 men). The mean ± SD age and BMI were 58.7 ± 10.3 years and 27.3 ± 4.0 kg/m2, respectively. During the mean follow-up period of 3.3 years, there was no significant variation in BMI. Forty-one patients abandoned OA therapyyielding an adherence rate of 86 %. Ninety-seven percent of patients used OA ≥4 h/day, and the mean daily use was 7.2 ± 1.1 h. The ACT score improved with OA use from 16.0 ± 5.9 to 20.1 ± 3.8 (p = 0.004), indicating better asthma control. The apnea and hypopnea index decreased significantly from 27 ± 19 at baseline to 10 ± 10 with OA therapy (p = 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS:
After a 1-month trial period, the long-term adherence to oral appliance was good. OA therapy decreased apneas and hypopneas significantly, and its long-term use was associated with an improvement in respiratory and asthma symptoms.
KEYWORDS:
Asthma; Oral sleep apnea appliance; Questionnaire; Sleep study
