Sleep Apnea Oral Appliances Posted on July 20, 2023 by Arizona Desert Ear, Nose & Throat Specialists Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic sleep disorder associated with snoring and pauses in breathing. Treatment is essential; doing so will eliminate daytime drowsiness and help prevent a number of potentially serious medical complications including heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes. While continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is the preferred method of treatment, not everybody is able to tolerate sleeping with a mask attached to a machine that delivers bursts of air to the throat. Oral appliances are an alternative for these patients. They work by either moving the lower jaw forward to keep the airway passages open or holding the tongue in place to prevent it from falling backward and blocking the airway. Oral appliances may be either fixed or adjustable and are available in many different styles with as many as 40 different patents in existence. Some are custom designed to fit the individual’s mouth after impressions are made and must be prescribed by a dentist, oral surgeon or ENT physician with sleep medicine experience. Others are considered one-size-fits-all. There are several advantages to using oral appliances over other sleep apnea treatment methods. They are easy to use, inexpensive and effective for treating a number of sleep disorders including snoring, upper airway resistance syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea. They are easy to insert and remove and tend to have higher compliance rates than CPAP. Younger patients who have to moderate sleep apnea, lower BMI and smaller neck sizes are most likely to see positive results from oral appliances.