NEW ORAL APPLIANCE THERAPY

guideline for treatment of sleep apneas has been published in July, 2015 by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM), which updates the practice parameters that the AASM published in 2006. Excerpted from the AASM’s web site, the new guideline recommends that sleep physicians consider prescription of oral appliances for adult patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who are intolerant of CPAP therapy or prefer alternate therapy. The guideline suggests that oral appliance therapy be provided by a qualified dentist using a custom, titratable appliance.

The guideline notes that CPAP therapy should still generally be the first-line option for treating OSA because it is superior in improving oxygen saturation and reducing the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and arousal index. The guideline also recommends that sleep physicians prescribe oral appliances for adult patients who request treatment of primary snoring, emphasizing that diagnosis of primary snoring should be rendered by a sleep physician and not a dentist since snoring is a cardinal symptom of OSA.

The guideline is published in the July issues of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine and the Journal of Dental Sleep Medicine and can be found here.

Overlake Sleep Disorders Center has partnered with a dentist specializing in oral appliance therapy to provide this service to our patients. Dr. Varun Sharma, DMD, will be customizing such treatments for patients of Drs. Bonvallet and Singh. Please contact our office for more information.