CPAP vs Snoring Appliance

An oral appliance for sleep apnea is a dental device, or mouthpiece, that you place in your mouth to keep your airway open while you sleep. Healthcare providers use them frequently to treat obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA.

With sleep apnea, your upper airway is blocked partially or completely when you are sleeping. The reduction in airflow triggers your brain to wake you up just enough to keep you breathing. The constant cycle of restricted airflow, waking and falling asleep again, continues throughout your night. These episodes will keep you from sleeping soundly, preventing your vital organs from getting enough oxygen. If left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to serious health conditions.

Oral appliances, also referred to as oral appliance therapy, treat OSA. They simply hold your mouth in a designated position that ensures you get enough airflow. They will help you breathe better and reduce how often sleep apnea wakes you up.

Who are Oral Appliances Best For?

Oral appliances work best if you have snoring issues or mild to moderate sleep apnea and you cannot use a CPAP, continuous positive airway pressure machine. A CPAP machine attaches to your airway through a tube and mask you wear at night, sending pressurized air through your airways, keeping them open.

While CPAP is the best treatment for improving airflow if you have sleep apnea or snore, you might find it challenging to use night after night. An oral appliance is not as effective as CPAP, but it can improve your symptoms.

You might find using an oral appliance and CPAP together. For example, you might use a CPAP machine at home but an oral appliance when traveling. You could use an oral appliance with a CPAP machine to limit the amount of pressurized air you are getting from the CPAP.

Types of Oral Appliances Used to Treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring

There are two main types of dental appliances for treating sleep apnea and snoring: mandibular advancement devices, MADs, and tongue-stabilizing devices, TSDs.

Mandibular advancement devices are the most common oral appliance for treating sleep apnea and snoring. They are also called mandibular advancement splints, mandibular advancement appliances, or mandibular repositioning appliances.

This device works by pulling your lower jaw, or mandible, forward. Moving your jaw forward will also pull your tongue forward, which creates more space for airflow in the back of your throat. MADs custom fit your teeth. Most devices come in two parts, one for your top teeth and a second for your bottom. Screws, hinges, and adapted rubber bands connect the top and bottom, which allows you to pull the lower part of the device, controlling your jaw forward. Others have independent interchangeable arches.

Tongue-stabilizing devices, or TSDs, are also called tongue-retaining devices. They treat sleep apnea and snoring by pulling your tongue forward using suction. A suction bulb on the device holds your tongue forward in place while you sleep. The tip of the TSD stays outside of your mouth. Like a MAD, a TSD opens your airway by moving the base of your tongue forward.

TSDs are not as popular as MADs, but they can be an option if you want to try an oral appliance but cannot use a MAD. For example, if your teeth are not strong enough to hold a MAD in place, you could use a TSD instead.

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