Lawton Combined CPAP and Oral Appliance Therapy

What is CPAP Therapy?

CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. As the name suggests, CPAP systems force air into the nose or throat to ensure patients continue breathing during sleep. Depending on patient need, CPAP systems can use a mask that covers the mouth or nose or both. In addition to ensuring the airway is unobstructed, CPAP also provides higher levels of oxygen which improves patient’s quality of rest during sleep. This is one of the most recommended treatment options for patients suffering sleep apnea, and it has been consistently providing patients improved quality of sleep. Unfortunately, there are patients who have difficulty adjusting to the sounds and sensations of CPAP therapy, which can lead to continued poor quality sleep. When patients don’t adjust within a few weeks of nightly use, CPAP therapy may not be the ideal treatment option.

What is Oral Appliance Therapy?

Oral appliances can be used to treat both snoring and sleep apnea. In fact these, comfortable appliances are custom crafted to provide improved airflow. The appliances shift the jaw forward. This places pressure on throat muscles that will remove obstruction and allow patients to breathe deeply through the night. Easy to wear, remove, and clean, these oral appliances are great for patients who travel frequently. However, there are some patients who will not experience adequate improvement by using only oral appliances.

Combined Treatment

By using a CPAP unit with a nasal mask and a custom oral appliance, patients may be able to achieve better results than either therapy above. This combined therapy allows patients who are CPAP intolerant to receive the benefits of the CPAP system with a more comfortable administration method. The oral appliance keeps the airway open, so patients can use lower, less invasive levels on their CPAP system. When using higher levels on the CPAP, patients may be uncomfortable and experience dry mouth or chronic headaches.

Do I Need Combined Therapy?

During your sleep apnea consultation at Stop Snoring Lawton, Dr. Drummond will go over all of your sleep apnea treatment options. Combined therapy isn’t the best solution for every patient, but we typically encourage this method for those patients who are CPAP intolerant but do not achieve adequate relief from oral appliances alone and those who don’t achieve better sleep with CPAP alone.

Benefits of Combined CPAP/Oral Appliance Therapies

Patients who choose to combine CPAP and Oral Appliance Therapies, can expect to experience a number of benefits. Some of the most commonly reported advantages of combined sleep apnea therapy include the following:

• More comfortable – the nasal mask patients wear during combined therapy is much less intrusive than the full mouth and nose mask typically worn by sleep apnea sufferers. Additionally, the oral appliance holds the airway open meaning patients can use their CPAP systems on lower, quieter settings.
• More likely to comply – because the combination of CPAP and Oral Appliance Therapy can be more comfortable, patients are much more likely to remain compliant with their recommended treatment plan. The only way to ensure patients sleep soundly and renew their health following sleep apnea, is to follow a treatment plan consistently. Any treatment solutions that improve compliance should also improve the results experienced by sleep apnea sufferers.
• More effective – patient studies conducted by the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine indicate that combined therapy may be the most effective solution for those diagnosed with sleep apnea. Studies show that apnea (cessation of breathing for ten or more seconds at a time) and hypopnea (shallow breathing or cessation of breathing for less than ten seconds) events were significantly decreased and energy levels were higher during waking hours. This was determined using two tests the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. The AHI indicates that sleep apnea sufferers experience about 6.6 apnea or hypopnea events each hour. Those who used only CPAP therapy experienced a reduction to 4.4 events an hour, and those who used combined therapy had only 2.6 apnea or hypopnea events. According to the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, sleep apnea sufferers rank their level of daytime fatigue at about a 12 with no treatment. Using only oral appliance therapy, sleep apnea sufferers rated their exhaustion at a 9, and this result was further improved to a 7 on the scale when patients used combined therapies. The results of these studies indicate that combined therapy is able to improve upon the efficacy of both individual forms of sleep apnea therapy.
• More convenient – frequent travelers (especially those who fly regularly) struggle to carry their bulky CPAP systems and all the necessary supplies with them. That means that any time these sleep apnea sufferers are away from home, they probably aren’t using their CPAP system. Patients who choose combined therapy can at least carry along their portable, compact oral appliances while traveling. That means patients are much less likely to miss even a single night of deep sleep.

Contact Our Lawton Sleep Apnea Team Today

If you’re ready to get started down the road to better sleep, it’s time to schedule a sleep apnea consultation at Stop Snoring Lawton. Before your first appointment, take a few moments to complete the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. We can review the results of this simple questionnaire to help you determine whether or not you’re at a high risk for sleep apnea. During your consultation, we can examine this assessment and your experiences. If we determine you likely suffer from sleep apnea, we can help you schedule an in-office or at-home sleep study to provide an accurate diagnosis. If you’ve already been diagnosed with sleep apnea but don’t receive adequate improvement from other treatments, you can also schedule a consultation to determine whether or not oral appliance therapy can help you sleep better.