Mild sleep apnea, doctor recommended a dental appliance but not sure how to proceed.

[MysticEcho]

Hi everyone,

I've been struggling for quite some time with tiredness in the morning and also with fatigue overall, so at the recommendation of my primary care physician I did a home sleep study.

I got diagnosed with mild sleep apnea, with an AHI of 11.9. I went to see a sleep specialist, and he recommended a dental appliance. 

I've been reading quite a bit about dental appliances here and on other places on the internet, and I'm concerned about side effects. They also don't seem particularly effective. So I'm wondering what I should do instead. Should I go for a CPAP machine maybe?

Also, looking at the number of events per position on my report, most of my apnea events happen while supine, with very few events while sleeping on the left or on the right. So I'm wondering if I could try maybe sleeping on the side instead and if that would help?

Would love to hear your suggestions. Thanks!

[Deborah K.]

I don't think dental appliances work for many people, and lots seem to find that their bite is off due to wearing the appliance.  I would recommend not to use one.

Maybe side sleeping would help.  The only way to know is to download and use Oscar, our free apnea reporting program.  If you want to try that, record yourself for a couple of nights as you usually sleep, then record yourself a couple of nights sleeping on your sides.  If the AHI is really low, you might not need to do anything more.  If it's not much different you need to get a pap machine.

If you do end up with a pap machine, make sure your doctor prescribes a ResMed Airsense 10 or a ResMed Aircurve 10 Vauto, depending on whether you need a regular machine or a bilevel machine.

Best of luck with finding what works best!  

[Rickyricardo]

How does someone record their sleep without a PAP machine writing some data to a SD card for OSCAR to interpret?

[Crimson Nape]

Simple answer, you don't. OSCAR is written to report CPAP data.
- Red

[Deborah K.]

OOPS!  Of course, he can't do that.  

MysticEcho, sorry, I don't know where my brain went. Unless you know someone with a back up machine you could borrow, there's no way to test your theory. Also, unless you are a natural all the time side sleeper, there is no way to know whether you move to different positions while asleep. I think you need a pap machine.

[nightgagger]

My girlfriend uses a mouth appliance. Before she got that, she would snore up a storm. She had a sleep study done and like you has mild apnea.

She's now had the appliance for about a couple of months. Her snoring is gone, which is great, but she does complain of jaw pain. Probably the worst part of this treatment/therapy. The only way to see any kind of data from this is her Garmin watch, which as most know is not super accurate, but can give an overview of a night's sleep. She went from low numbers of deep sleep, to a lot longer, so that's an improvement. As far as how she feels in the morning. Some days are good, some not.

I think the biggest benefit from using the oral appliance is that she doesn't snore...so that may be good for your partner.