Sleep Apnea Treatment: Comparing CPAP, Oral Appliances, and Surgery

Sleep apnea is a kind of sleep disorder which is spread across the globe and isawidespreadinthe developed world. This is common in situations where one’s breathing is interrupted whilst sleeping and can cause sleep loss and other health problems. When not treated, sleep apnea may lead to other serious health conditions such as heart disease, stroke or diabetes. Therefore, there is a need to assess different approaches and decide on the treatment best suited for the patient.

In this article, we will compare three common sleep apnea treatment methods: CPAP, oral appliances, and surgery of mandibular and maxillary surgical advancement. There will be a brief overview of how well these therapies work, whether they are beneficial, and the issues or risks that may be associated with their use, including their price so as to guide you to the kind of treatment that might benefit you most.

1. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

Auto-titrating CPAP is regarded as the primary therapy for the management of OSA, which is a type of sleep apnea in which breathing is disturbed because the airway narrows or closes as a result of the soft tissues’ collapse. The therapy implies the use of a face mask through which a continuous mild positive pressure is produced in the airways due to a small pump. This helps keep the airways open, avoiding disruptions of breathing and thus come up with a natural way of allowing persons to have sound sleep.

Benefits of CPAP therapy:

Clinically recommended as an effective approach for controlling symptoms of sleep apnea and enhancing the quality of life. It appears suitable for most patients with mild, moderate or severe OSA.

• Reduces the probability of contracting health complications associated with sleep apnea
• Identical to the one previously mentioned, it can also be customized according to one’s preference.
• Drawbacks of CPAP therapy:
• A small number of patients pointed out that they felt uncomfortable during the application of a face mask and felt like being locked in a box.
• Some of the side effects may include; dry feeling in the nasal passage, sinus congestion or irritation of the skin as the mask touches the skin frequently
• It can also produce noise to some extent which might be very disruptive to bed partners.

Patients who have some limitations or those that are slow to embrace change end up not using the device as recommended

For mild to moderate sleep apnea or patients who cannot use CPAP oral appliances are another treatment option available. These devices are fitted in the mouth during nights and they try to change the position of lower jaw or the tongue to unblock the air way. Oral appliances can be categorised into the following groups that are; mandibular repositioning devices, tongue retaining devices and hybrid appliance.

Benefits of oral appliances:

• Portable and do not require the invasions of the body and thus more preferable when traveling
• Generally lighter than masks used in CPAP, therefore more likely to be used regularly
• May prove to be less costly than continuous positive airway pressure therapy in the long term

Drawbacks of oral appliances:

Considerably less effective than CPAP therapy for patients with mild, moderate to severe sleep apnea
May not be very helpful for patients with complicated dental problems or people who had dental procedures done such as root canal treatments and extraction.
May lead to jaw discomfort, tooth discomfort, or bite shift – may require rerouting at set dental appointments

Surgery might be another curb for sleep apnea especially in patients with severe OSA, who seem not to benefits from the use of CPAP or oral appliance treatment. Sleep apnea surgery seeks to remove structures which physically hinder free breathing during a surgery. Some common surgical treatments include:

• Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP): A technique which is used for the excision of redundant tissue from the throat and soft palate.
• Nasal surgery: Realigns structural abnormalities in the nasal passages that might be a cause of sleep apnea
• Maxillofacial surgery: Alters the position of the jaw and skull in order to gain better alignment of airway.
• Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy: Major surgeries to correct difficult breathing through the surgical procedure to remove enlarged tonsils and adenoids

Benefits of surgery:

It can help to rid the need for the use of a CPAP or oral appliance therapy.
May help in improving the ventilation and quality of sleep, which causes less health risk factors of sleep apnea.

Drawbacks of surgery:

• Anesthetic hazards, for instance, risks related to anesthesia
• Pressure and stress after surgery that can negatively affect a person’s sleep patterns in the first few days
• Expensive processes that may not be compensated by the insurer, hence comes with emolument.
• Not suitable for all patients, who may need other additional treatments or even operations on the mammary glands.

Conclusion

It is therefore very important to understand that the treatment of sleep apnea cannot be generalized, it will depend on the type of the condition. The benefits of treatment depend on the characteristics of the course of the disease, your preferences, and health status. Before choosing a course of action, you require the advice of your doctor to determine the best procedures to undertake. Always compare the pros and cons of each technique and explain the costs and insurance policy as well as their readiness to follow the given treatment plan.

Just like managing sleep apnea treatment is a lifelong process in which the patient might have to adapt his treatment program to the changing conditions periodically. As a result, if you collaborate effectively with your healthcare team and make the accessory adjustments, you can indeed control your sleep apnea and lead a better quality of life.