You likely know someone who has been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, and as a result, must use a CPAP machine to get a restful night’s sleep and improve their apnea condition.
While CPAP has certainly helped thousands, if not millions of individuals find relief from sleep apnea, there is a problem amongst patients, and that is the issue of compliance.
Now, it’s not that patients do not want to be compliant; the overwhelming majority of them try their best to be fully compliant with CPAP treatment. However, the challenge is that trying to sleep with a loud, heavy machine over your face isn’t easy!
If CPAP wearers are not totally compliant with treatment, they are not achieving a truly therapeutic experience while sleeping.
Here are a few reasons CPAP patients often don’t comply 100% with treatment protocol:
- Patients complain of feeling hot during the night (or the machine gets overheated)
- Patients can’t sleep because of the noise the machine makes
- When tossing and turning, the CPAP machine is cumbersome and makes noise
- Their partner sometimes has trouble sleeping in the same room
All of these problems cause patients to turn their CPAP machine off during the night, and in many cases, never turn it back on. When patients struggle to wear their CPAP machine throughout the night, the treatment will not provide the relief from snoring or daytime sleepiness they were expecting.
Can an oral sleep appliance solve this problem?
For patients who are struggling with a CPAP machine, there is an alternative known as an oral sleep appliance (OSA).
These appliances are commonly made by dentists with specialized training and qualifications in the field of sleep apnea treatment. They are a great option for patients who have struggled with wearing a CPAP machine, or feel that it is not a reasonable treatment for their particular situation.
An oral appliance made by our sleep apnea dentist, Dr. Clifford Brown, can provide similar relief for your symptoms as the CPAP, but at a much higher compliance rate. If patients are selecting a treatment option they will actually use, then the success rates become much higher.
So, to recap, an oral appliance can provide relief for symptoms such as daytime sleepiness, excessive snoring, brain fog, and other similar symptoms that sleep apnea sufferers often report.
We want to make it clear that we are not bashing CPAP treatment. For patients who are compliant, it is a very effective treatment. Our goal at Babylon Dental Care is to give patients the same relief from their apnea condition, using a simpler, easier-to-follow approach to treatment.
Is it time for you to see our Babylon sleep apnea dental team?
Whether you’ve already been diagnosed with sleep apnea and are currently using a CPAP machine, or think you may have sleep apnea and would like a consultation, we encourage you to contact our office nearest you today. We have two convenient locations (Babylon Dental Care at Great South Bay and Babylon Dental Care at Gateway Plaza) and would love to help resolve your sleep apnea issues.
Dr. Brown has advanced training in treating sleep apnea patients with custom dental appliances, and our sleep apnea coordinator, Sharon, has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to answering any questions related to sleep apnea treatment.
If you snore excessively or seem to be constantly tired throughout your day, it’s important to seek help immediately. Sleep apnea is a dangerous condition if left untreated (both to you and the people around you).
