Sleep apnea is a well-known sleep pathology that is experienced by millions of adults across the globe. It is an ailment that affects a person when his / her breathing is cut off during sleep because your throat muscles have relaxed making it difficult for the blood to flow a sufficient amount of Oxygen. There are two main types of sleep apnea: All among them are primarily divided into two types of sleep apneas, namely obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and central sleep apnea (CSA). OSA is more popular with situations where the throat muscles collapse over the airway while CSA is caused by the brain’s inability to supply adequate signals to the muscles that regulate breathing.

The conventional mode of treatment for sleep apnea comprises of-CPAP therapy, dental appliance and surgical procedures. CPAP is known to be the most efficient of all the therapies, but dental devices are now common because the former can cause discomfort to patients.

In this article I am going to discuss dental devices used in sleep apnea therapy, its efficacy and the conditions affecting efficacy of these devices.

Dental Devices Used in the Treatment of Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea apparatus come in different types and they work with varying efficiency in assisting the patient get a good night’s sleep. The most common dental devices include:

1. Mandibular repositioning devices (MRDs): These devices simply maintain the lower jaw forward in such a way that tongue and other soft tissues do not fold into the airway. MRDs are most useful for the moderate to mild OSA and those who have difficult for closing their mouth or teeth grinder.

2. Tongue retaining devices (TRDs): TRDs function are designed to position the tongue forward in order to provide a more open pathway of air in an individual when they sleep. Such devices may be more tolerable by some patients than MRDs because they do not have the tongue collapsing into the airway problem.

3. Hybrid devices: Such devices work in between both MRD and TRD with individualized treatment plans. The use of hybrid devices may help to address most clinical situations where patients with sleep apnea can be treated, and may provide better comfort and positional stability than other types of MRDs and TRDs.

4. Oral appliances that stimulate nerve activity: There are also dental devices that have been designed to use nerve signals within the tongue and throughout the mouth to keep the airway open. These devices have demonstrated the potential in managing SAD, mainly in patients with CSA.

Can Oral Appliances help in Sleep Apnea Therapy?

Scholars have established that there are various types of dental devices used in treatment of sleep apnea, and that this is influenced by the kind of sleep apnea disorder, as well as the level of compliance.

A cross-sectional survey conducted at the same year in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine also revealed that oral appliances were useful in treating sleep apnea, with a mean decrease in AHI of 69.2%. CPAP treatment was identified to have similar reduction as the above reduction.

Despite this, patients do not seem to benefit equally from dental devices. The evaluation of the treatment success defined as an AHI less than 10 events per hour was demonstrated in 56% of patients with severe OSA only, according to the data obtained by the Sleep journal in 2006. Factors that may impact the effectiveness of dental devices include:

1. Device type: Certain dental devices are suitable for particular forms of sleep apnoea, or patients’ characteristics. For instance, sizing of patientрива may prove easier in cases of OSA provided by TRDs as opposed to the hybrid types that are valuable in a variety of sleep apnea type cases.

2. Compliance: In general, the effectiveness of dental devices fails or succeeds on the patient’s capacity and propensity to wear them. Some devices must be worn at night, while sleeping, for effective and appropriate therapeutic effects. Failure to initialize the procedures, increase the risk of an ineffective treatment process, and the reappearance of sleep apnea symptoms.

3. Patient anatomy: There therefore exists certain people who may not qualify for the use of dental devices because of their anatomical structures or the severity of their condition. In such cases, other forms of treatment, that may include the use of CPAP or surgery may prove more appropriate.

4. Concurrent medical conditions: Those patients who have other diseases, for example TMJ, or bruxism will also feel painful or develop some kinds of problems when use dental appliances. This may cause them to wear the devices ineffectively and hence, the general effectiveness of treatment may be affected.

Conclusion

MADs appear to be an acceptable substitute for CPAP therapy in sleep apnea patients as they also result to similar decrease in AHI as CPAP treatment. But their efficacy depends on different factors like the type of device, usage concordance and the internal structure and state of the patient’s health.

Anyone thinking of using these devices should seek advice from a sleep specialist or dentist to help him or her decide whether he or she ought to use the devices. However, as in any treatment, it is necessary to mention that the use of dental devices can benefit a limited number of patients, while other treatment options such as surgery or CPAP therapy could be more suitable.

Therefore, based on the efficiency of dental devices for treating SAD, we recommend that every patient carefully consider their specific case and consult a doctor for personalized advice on the most suitable sleep apnea treatment.