Fortunately, abandoning your CPAP doesn’t mean that you have to continue to suffer from your sleep apnea symptoms and give up hope of enjoying quality sleep. Alternative non-invasive treatments are quite effective at eliminating symptoms of this condition. An oral appliance for sleep apnea looks and feels similar to a mouthguard. Rather than forcing air into the airway, it prevents apneic episodes by holding the jaw or tongue in a forward position. This keeps the soft tissues at the back of the throat away from the vicinity of the airway opening.
Fitting entirely in the interior of the mouth, the oral appliance doesn’t cause any sensation of feeling smothered like a CPAP mask can. Oral appliances are also customized to fit the unique specifications of your mouth, which offers maximum comfort. Oral appliances are so user-friendly that the adherence rate is much higher than with CPAP devices. Because patients use oral appliances as directed, they are highly effective at eliminating sleep apnea.
Are you looking for an alternative to a CPAP machine that you’ve abandoned? Visit our office for your consultation to learn more about oral appliance therapy.
A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device treats sleep apnea by forcing air into the airway to keep it open during sleep. This requires a bulky mask attached to a compressor, which must be plugged into an outlet, with a hose.
Although CPAP is a highly effective treatment for sleep apnea, it also has a high rate of non-compliance. Patients tend to give up on their CPAP because of the following issues:
These are just a few of the many issues that interfere with a patient’s ability to adhere to CPAP treatment. It’s easy to see why so many patients reject this treatment.
Sleep apnea is associated with significant health risks, so in order to protect your health, it’s important to get treatment for this condition. Doing so may reduce the effects of issues like high blood pressure, stroke and diabetes. Additionally, effective sleep apnea treatment also improves quality of life issues, like energy levels, mood and the ability to focus. If you’re not using your CPAP mask, you’re not getting any of these benefits.
Do you want a better option for sleep apnea treatment than your CPAP mask? Schedule an evaluation at our office to see if oral appliance therapy is a better match for your needs.