[Treatment] CPAP VS Dental Appliance

[p471p457p456]

Has anyone done any research or had any experiences with dental appliances as an alternative to obstructive sleep apnea treatment? After 2 years of being on a basic CPAP machine (with no data/monitoring) I came upon this forum and am learning a lot. I am ready to upgrade to an APAP machine, but before that expensive step wanted to try one more alternative to the CPAP machine altogether. I was wondering if there are any that are FDA approved dental devices out there, who makes them and if anyone has had any positive/negative experiences with them such as comfortability, impact on sleep, etc. Also, do you need another sleep test while wearing it to see if it actually works and how much. Any suggestions, advice or other information about the devices would be appreciated.

[Moe]

I don't know too much about it except that it probably won't do much for somebody with severe sleep apnea. I think it is designed to help those with mild or moderate sleep apnea.

Hopefully there are others that have experience with this appliance.

[Galactus]

Welcome to the forum, I don't know the answer to your question, other than what was said above which is what I have heard. Someone else will likely be around soon to answer your question though.

[mjbearit]

I've never used the Dental Appliances personally, but from what I have seen, they are not cheap and they have nowhere close to the success rate that a xPAP machine has. Naturally, if you want to know if a dental appliance works for you you would have to buy it (they are custom made to the individual) and use it during another sleep study. Otherwise you have no idea if it is working or not or how well it is working. Dental appliances don't come with a data-capable model!