Mouth guards?

[Dive Apnea]

Not sure what exactly they are called, but they extend your jaw, and or depress your tongue. Is this a viable option for treating sleep apnea? Or does it just stop snoring? Ok, no need for advocating for only using cpap machines to treat SA. I am on board 100% and can't sleep w/o my cpap. I just heard a podcast of someone who seems intelligent on a lot of topics say he couldn't deal with a cpap, and uses a mouth piece thingy. Calling it a "game changer." Anyone listen to Joe Rogen?

[chunkyfrog]

Money.
These people make a living by saying what they are told to.
There is no longer a distiction between "news" and advertising.
Those days are gone.
Even Paul Harvey pimped for Amway.

[LSAT]

Money.
These people make a living by saying what they are told to.
There is no longer a distiction between "news" and advertising.
Those days are gone.
Even Paul Harvey pimped for Amway.

+1

[LSAT]

Not sure what exactly they are called, but they extend your jaw, and or depress your tongue. Is this a viable option for treating sleep apnea? Or does it just stop snoring? Ok, no need for advocating for only using cpap machines to treat SA. I am on board 100% and can't sleep w/o my cpap. I just heard a podcast of someone who seems intelligent on a lot of topics say he couldn't deal with a cpap, and uses a mouth piece thingy. Calling it a "game changer." Anyone listen to Joe Rogen?

People that seem intelligent on a lot of topics, usually are not....

[Goofproof]

Not sure what exactly they are called, but they extend your jaw, and or depress your tongue. Is this a viable option for treating sleep apnea? Or does it just stop snoring? Ok, no need for advocating for only using cpap machines to treat SA. I am on board 100% and can't sleep w/o my cpap. I just heard a podcast of someone who seems intelligent on a lot of topics say he couldn't deal with a cpap, and uses a mouth piece thingy. Calling it a "game changer." Anyone listen to Joe Rogen?

Is a waste of money called a game changer, guess it is by some hawking it. Jim

[Dive Apnea]

To be clear he wasn't advertising this mouth piece or Dr., just saying it works for him. All the reponses thus far are cpap-heads. Looking for objective data to support or deny mouth pieces. Again, I can't sleep w/o my beloved cpap!

Pss, this guy doesn't need mouth piece money.

[Julie]

They are called mandibular advancement devices or MADs but are uncomfortable, expensive, can cause TMJ and very few find they help OSA.

[LSAT]

To be clear he wasn't advertising this mouth piece or Dr., just saying it works for him. All the responses thus far are cpap heads. Looking for objective data to support or deny mouth pieces. Again, I can't sleep w/o my beloved cpap!

Pss, this guy doesn't need mouth piece money. (Either do all the celebrities we see selling products)

Sorry...This is a CPAP message board...not a dental message board

[esel]

They are called mandibular advancement devices or MADs but are uncomfortable, expensive, can cause TMJ and very few find they help OSA.

Mine is called a pacifier or mute button and it does not work when I loose it.

[chunkyfrog]

Pocket sized torture device.
Denial accessory.
My favorite: receipt for your dentist's bass boat.

[kteague]

You might want to browse the many articles over on PubMed, although admittedly it can be hard to tell if studies are indeed unbiased and results substantiated in a meaningful way. I just searched the site for oral device and got lots of hits. I would think that for some an oral device could be therapeutic. The threat of TMJ eliminates me, don't want to risk that kind of pain again. Otherwise, if it were covered by insurance or I was independently wealthy, I'd consider trying it. I don't think their ability to effect improvement is so much at issue as their abilty to improve OSA enough to rely on it solely, and the limitations for monitoring effectiveness. What you'll find on a CPAP forum is those who tried it and it didn't work out for them. Those for whom it is a success would have no reason to hang out here.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

[BTS]

Pocket sized torture device.
Denial accessory.
My favorite: receipt for your dentist's bass boat.

[HoseCrusher]

We just had a discussion on this at a meeting. It seems there is a group of people that find that a mouth guard actually works.

The group is people in the 30 - 50 year range and have normal body mass. Home fit ones don't work and an average cost for a dentist to fit one is around $1000. In the studies done on this select group they are seeing about a 70% rate of effectively controlling simple sleep apnea.

Most of the people using this dental device that the sleep doctor was familiar with used CPAP when at home, but used the dental device when hiking, kayaking, and so on.

The bottom line is you first locate a dentist that has a lot of experience in making these devices, pay your money, then pay more money for a home sleep study to see if you are one of the 70%.

None of this is covered by insurance.

If you quality of "outdoor" life is important, or if you live on airplanes, and if you fit the group that it seems to help, it may be worth the expense to explore.

[xcountrygal]

I am one of those people for whom a mandibular advancement device (MAD) worked very well for a period of 15 years. At that time of my original sleep study, my AHI was below 8, but my oxygen levels would drop to the low 80's once during the night (confirmed with two separate over-night in hospital sleep studies). I am very petite and am at the low end of or below the weight targets for my height etc. Unfortunately, when completing a home sleep study to authorize a new device, in Oct. 2017, that was no longer the case (repeated home study at my request with MAD in place demonstrated that the device dropped my AHI 30 points - but not enough to move me out of the low-moderate range or change the oxygen desats well enough). Ethically, the sleep dentist could not make a new device for me and I was referred for CPAP. When considering an MAD there are some important points to consider:

This is not something for a person who's AHI is above the mild range. An ethical sleep dentist will not take on a patient whose AHI is above this level and should refer them on for CPAP. As noted by others, there are people out there who call themselves sleep dentists and will take on patients for whom a MAD is not appropriate.

The efficacy of the device must be monitored. My sleep dentist at the time required a home sleep study annually or sooner if changes were noted.

It will change your bite despite doing morning exercises to help restore your bite. I had a lousy bite to begin with, so changes, but nothing that made a difference functionally for me.

If you have any tendency to TMJ, you should not consider this.

Some insurances will pay a portion of the cost and Medicare will pay for specific models if you meet criteria (low AHI etc.).

I hope this information is helpful.

[LoftisX4]

Since this is a CPAP forum, I'll refrain from too much info about the oral appliance. But there is a wealth of info out there for the looking. I research sleep disorders and their treatments, (which led me here) and follow several dentists who've been trained specifically for treating sleep apnea.

It IS typically covered by medical insurance, even Medicare, and CAN work for all ranges of obstructive sleep apnea, but may NOT be recommended for those with mixed or central apnea, or other sleep disorders.

www.aadsm.org