You are not alone! Recent research suggests that as many as 40%-50% of patients don’t use their prescribed CPAP machines. For those that do use it, it is a wonderful treatment often changing their lives by helping them sleep well.

Unfortunately, for many others using this bedside air breathing device is a nightmare. Patients often struggle with the hoses and masks, and they hate to travel with them. Many patients are simply just too claustrophobic with them in place. And untreated apnea can be life threatening especially in the earlier adult decades.

Luckily, for thousands of individuals, professional oral appliance therapy is now considered the standard of care but the American Academy of Sleep Medicine for mild to moderate OSA and for others who can not tolerate CPAP.

This well researched therapy involves the fitting of a custom made night time oral appliance. Current research has documented that the compliance is far greater with OAT than CPAP because of increased comfort, lack of sleeping constraints, no noise levels, and ease of transportability. Documented research also has shown that even 75% of successful CPAP users who tried OAT would in future take the OAT route even if they had to pay for it in its entirety. However, medical reimbursement for such therapy is quite common.

Patients seeking this type of treatment should be referred to dentist specifically trained in sleep disorders. These dentists work with your physician as part of your medical team in your diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care. Should you find you find oral appliance therapy an effective option for you, you may not only sleep better, but you will feel better knowing that you are treating this life threatening condition.

To find out more about oral appliance therapy visit www.FreeMeFromCPAP.com .

Dr. Sosenko recently attended the 18th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine  hosted in Seattle Washington.  At this intensive 3 day continuing education meeting, Dr. Sosenko participated in courses filled with the latest research in the field of oral appliance therapy (OAT) for the treatment of snoring, apnea and upper resistance syndrome. �
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As anticipated, Oral Appliance Therapy (Professional Mouth Devices) for snoring and apnea continues to gain evidence as a strong treatment option for snoring and apnea patients.  It has been established that these ‘mouth devices’ when treated successfully have a positive effect on decreasing symptoms that patients with apnea often have such as  daytime fatigue, difficulty driving alert, restless sleep, depression, sexual dysfunction, and more. Potential complications of untreated apnea such as hypertension and cardiovascular disease can also be positively affected with successful professional oral devices that are provided by properly trained dental sleep providers, as Dr. Sosenko.
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Please visit FreeMeFromCpap.com for more information on oral appliance therapy for snoring and apnea.  Dental Sleep Medicine of Illinois has been treating patients from the surrounding areas of Naperville, Wheaton, Downer’s Grove, Warrenville, Geneva, Bolingbrook, Rockford, and many more communities within Northern Illinois for well over a decade.

By, Dr. Lydia Sosenko

Airport security scrutiny, luggage restrictions, and just plain old inconvenience are just some of the reasons that people have been known to leave behind their CPAP or Continuous Positive Air Pressure Devices during travel.

CPAP is the most currently prescribed treatment to date for obstructive sleep apnea or OSA, a life threatening condition in which people stop breathing repeatedly as much as 100 or more times per hour! OSA is still considered one of the most undiagnosed medical conditions. Although very effective, CPAP therapy is not tolerated by many people, and often left behind during travel for those who do tolerate it. Some studies report that as many as 40-60 % of patients are not complying with this type of therapy!

During travel, some of the most common complaints involve troubles with transportability of such devices. Some patients have complained of their CPAP devices not properly functioning after airport security scrutiny. Others say it just takes too much room to pack adding to problems with stricter luggage restrictions.

Unfortunately, many OSA patients do not know of other options that they may have to treat obstructive sleep apnea. OAT or oral appliance therapy has been a proven CPAP alternative, medically recognized and recommended treatment for apnea patients for over 2 decades! With no hoses, nothing to plug in, and nothing to strap on, OAT involves the fitting of a custom mouth device that can fit into the palm of your hand, and can be stored in a small plastic container. These custom mouth devices work by keeping the jaw and tongue slightly forward preventing collapsing of the airway and allowing free and unblocked breathing during sleep. When comparing success rates of CPAP therapy and Oral Appliance Therapy, CPAP has generally higher success rates. However, compliance is far higher with OAT making it a great option especially for those with mild to moderate apnea or those who quite simply refuse to pack-up their CPAP along on those trips!

For more information on oral appliance therapy and to see if it can rescue your travel itinerary from CPAP problems, visit www.FreeMeFromCPAP.com.