Does oral appliance therapy for sleep apnea work?

Video Overview

Hello, I am Doctor Mark Abramson. I am a dentist who practices in both Redwood City and Monterey California. With my practice limited to treating the special needs of patients with TMJ, oral facial pain and sleep apnea. I am board certified by the American Academy of Oral Facial Pain, the American Academy of Pain Management and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. I have been practicing for 35 years. Does oral appliance therapy for treatment of sleep apnea work? The simple answer is "yes, it does". As a matter of fact, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine which is the group of physicians who treat sleep apnea formed the committee to ask this very question. The results of this review tell us that oral appliance therapy was equally effective for treating sleep apnea in patients with both mild and moderate sleep apnea, and that their recommendation was that oral appliances also be used for patients with severe sleep apnea who fail the use of CPAP. Oral appliances have also been looked at in comparison with CPAP with what’s called crossover studies with patients receive both CPAP therapy and oral appliance therapy. Patients who had both treatments at the end prefer the oral appliance therapy.