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Special mouthguard may be alternative to CPAP for sleep apnea (Progressive custom fitting over weeks is key)
Medical Xpress / The Laryngoscope / Sleep Medicine Reviews ^ | Mar. 9, 2022 | Guillaume Buiret et al

Posted on 03/10/2022 12:57:37 PM PST by ConservativeMind

Oral appliances similar to mouthguards—called mandibular advancement devices (MADs)—have been shown to work as well as CPAP in treating sleep apnea for many patients.

"The oral appliances have been around for less time than CPAP, but they've grown a lot in popularity over the last couple of years and they can be as effective as CPAP for the right patient," Wang said.

Obstructive sleep apnea occurs when your throat muscles relax to the point of collapse and block your airway during sleep. When this happens, your body becomes starved for oxygen and you periodically wake up for a few seconds to gasp for air.

People with severe sleep apnea can wake more than 30 times an hour while trying to get their rest. Daytime sleepiness is the most prominent side effect, but sleep apnea also has been linked to serious health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

Mouthguards keep airways open

These devices consist of two pieces that cover your upper and lower teeth, connected by a mechanism that uses your upper jaw as leverage to push the lower jaw forward, explained Dr. Colleen Lance.

MADs are similar to over-the-counter devices sold to help treat snoring, but they are custom-made by dentists working with sleep doctors, Lance and Levine said.

The upper and lower pieces are molded to your teeth, and the dentist performs a physical examination of your airway, including X-rays, to determine the exact adjustment you'll need.

"They calculate how many millimeters forward—we're talking about millimeters here, itty-bitty movements of the lower jaw—they would need to move the lower jaw to keep that airway open," Lance said.

These adjustments are usually made very slowly over a matter of weeks to prevent your jaw from aching or your bite from changing dramatically, Lance said.

(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine
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To: ConservativeMind

All these devices sound disgusting. Furthermore, how do you even lie down to sleep with all the hoses and masks snake nest?


21 posted on 03/10/2022 2:25:17 PM PST by Cobra64 (Common sense isn’t common anymore.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
I learned about this just two days ago during a visit to a dentist who specializes in TMJ pain.

Was this device included as an option for providing TMJ pain relief?

22 posted on 03/10/2022 2:32:14 PM PST by corkoman
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To: the OlLine Rebel

Interesting, because I saw a TMJ specialist — one of only five in the SF Bay Area. She thought it might be useful.


23 posted on 03/10/2022 2:45:02 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (If truckers quit their jobs, society would collapse. If politicians quit their jobs...HALLELUJAH!)
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To: corkoman

Yeah, the dentist thought it could relieve the TMJ pain and maybe eliminate the CPAP machine.


24 posted on 03/10/2022 2:46:01 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (If truckers quit their jobs, society would collapse. If politicians quit their jobs...HALLELUJAH!)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Thanks. Is the term “mandibular advancement devices” understood by the medical and dental profession alike?


25 posted on 03/10/2022 3:03:10 PM PST by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: ConservativeMind; ProtectOurFreedom; the OlLine Rebel; CurlyDave; Vigilanteman; srmanuel

“mandibular advancement devices (MADs)” are 100% GUARANTEED to eventually destroy your TMJ (temporomandibular joint), otherwise know as your jaw-joint ...


26 posted on 03/10/2022 3:21:17 PM PST by catnipman (In a post-covid world, ALL "science" is now political science: stolen elections have consequences)
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To: Cobra64

First of all, this special jaw-pulling device is not full of hoses. That is the point.

2nd, many people manage. My hubby, who is sensitive, does it fine.

I thank God for it because he finally got it just before our son was born. For 3 years I kept being awakened and leaving the room, even when I was pregnant, having to go upstairs (the nature of our house) to get a good sleep far away.

It’s a Marriage Saver!


27 posted on 03/10/2022 3:28:38 PM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVd)
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To: ConservativeMind

I tried a mouth appliance for sleep apnea years ago. $$$ Had to quit due to jaw pain.


28 posted on 03/10/2022 3:44:30 PM PST by aimhigh (THIS is His commandment . . . . 1 John 3:23)
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To: ConservativeMind

Has Kamala used this device?


29 posted on 03/10/2022 3:47:11 PM PST by gathersnomoss (LIVE FREE OR DIE)
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To: gathersnomoss

Hers should be the “Lock-Jaw”.


30 posted on 03/10/2022 4:53:53 PM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVd)
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To: the OlLine Rebel

Doesn’t the CPAP HAVE HOSES AND WIRES.


31 posted on 03/10/2022 5:45:06 PM PST by Cobra64 (Common sense isn’t common anymore.)
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To: the OlLine Rebel

It would be handy if the power is out.


32 posted on 03/10/2022 5:49:06 PM PST by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is it?)
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To: jagusafr
These devices consist of two pieces that cover your upper and lower teeth, connected by a mechanism that uses your upper jaw as leverage to push the lower jaw forward, explained Dr. Colleen Lance, a physician in the Cleveland Clinic's Sleep Disorders Center.

Wouldn't that give you an ache in your jaw?

33 posted on 03/10/2022 5:50:28 PM PST by gitmo (If your theology doesn't become your biography, what good is it?)
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To: ConservativeMind

Thanks so much for posting these threads. I really appreciate it.


34 posted on 03/10/2022 5:52:41 PM PST by Trailerpark Badass (“There should be a whole lot more going on than throwing bleach,” said one woman.)
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To: gitmo

“Wouldn’t that give you an ache in your jaw?”

I tried one and it was actually trying to bend my teeth into a new position.


35 posted on 03/10/2022 5:56:25 PM PST by Clay Moore (Make Jan. 6 Ashli Babbitt Remembrance Day )
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To: davidb56
Probably true, but I’ve had sleep apnea since I was 6’6” and 180 lbs in my mid-20’s. Still have it now, and AFib at 245 lbs.

What I want to know is why there’s no surgical fix.

36 posted on 03/10/2022 5:57:03 PM PST by Trailerpark Badass (“There should be a whole lot more going on than throwing bleach,” said one woman.)
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To: Vigilanteman

See a dentist who specializes in sleep stuff. Ask your regular dentist for recommendations.


37 posted on 03/10/2022 6:11:07 PM PST by iceskater (I'm in the control group. ;))
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To: Cobra64

Sorry I wasn’t clear. THIS device, subject of the article, is strictly a self-contained mouthpiece.

MY HUSBAND uses a CPAP for 14 years (I know because our son turns 14 tomorrow and hubby finally got CPAP just prior to birth). Yes, it has a hose and head straps. No wires.

He uses it fine. I was surprised because he’s very “sensitive” to anything weird encumbering the body.


38 posted on 03/10/2022 6:27:14 PM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVd)
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To: gitmo

It also runs on battery power. He takes it on Scout camping.


39 posted on 03/10/2022 6:29:40 PM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVd)
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To: srmanuel

Yes, you’re now using the “pillows”. My hubby has only had to have the nose pillows this whole time and that has worked well. Some use the triangular mask like surgery gas. Is there anything more than that?


40 posted on 03/10/2022 6:36:42 PM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue./Federal-run medical care is as good as state-run DMVd)
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