Sleep Apnea Dental Device

Treatment with Dental Appliances for Sleep Apnea

CPAP users who cannot tolerate the machine, may also find an efficient alternative with a dental device for sleep apnea.

What Is a Sleep Apnea Dental Device?

Using a dental device, patients with sleep disorders (especially those with snoring and obstructive apnea) can improve their condition.

They work by opening the upper airway through advancement of the mandible and tongue.

Advantages of Dental appliances vs CPAP machine:

• less noticeable than a CPAP,
• make no noise,
• no need for power supply,
• cheaper than CPAP.

There are more than forty different dental devices for sleep apnea currently on the market , but the most common are:

Tongue Retaining Device

This was the first available sleep apnea dental device, developed by a physician who was trying to treat his own sleep breathing issues.

The tongue retaining device (TRD), also known as tongue stabilizing device (TSD), reposition the tongue in an anterior position, preventing from falling back into pharyngeal airway and in addition may cause mandibular advancement.

Here is a video with this type of dental appliance for sleep apnea:

Mandibular Repositioning or Advancement Devices (MRD):

This apnea dental appliance holds the mandible forwards during sleep and may also modify upper airway muscle activity.

With MRD, the dimension of the upper airway are increased, particularly at the level of the tongue base.

The most effective mandibular advancement devices for moderate obstructive sleep apnea are:

• Thornton adjustable positioner
• SomnoDent or SomnoMed.

This video will explain how a mandibular advancement device works:

What Type of Patient Can Benefit from Sleep Apnea Dental Device?

Resource: Dental Management of Sleep Disorders

How Can a Dentist Help You?

A dentist can recognize if you are at risk for obstructive apnea and snoring. He may see that you have conditions that indicate the risk of OSA and snorig, such as:

• tongue with scalloped borders,
• enlarged tongue, large tonsils or enlarged uvula,
• narrow airway,
• blocked nasal airway,
• wear on the teeth, which indicate sleep bruxism.

The dentist may ask you basic questions about your health history, and he may use the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to score your daytime sleepiness.

The next course of action will be a referral for a sleep study for further evaluation.

Most of the dental devices for sleep apnea (MRA) should be fitted by a qualified dentist trained in sleep medicine. However, some oral appliances can be custom fitted by the patient at home. They are usually effective only in primary snoring and mild OSA, such as VitalSleep mouthpiece.

Disadvantages of Oral Appliances for Sleep Apnea

Like CPAP therapy or surgery, using a dental device to treat OSA has side effects, mostly related to maxillomandibular changes, tooth movement and masticatory muscle pain.

If you choose this type of therapy, you should keep in mind that dental devices must be worn every night to have a successful outcome.

Questions Related to Sleep Apnea Dental Device:

Related Articles to Sleep Apnea Dental Device

CPAP Alternatives

Positional Therapy

Snoring or Sleep Apnea?

More Sleep Apnea Articles:

• Deviated Septum - a risk factor for apnea syndrome?
• Down Syndrome - a risk for sleep disordered breathing
• The genioglossus muscle - one of the main causes of obstructive apnea

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