The American Academy of Sleep Medicine and American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine have issued a joint guideline, recommending oral appliance therapy for the treatment of adult patients with obstructive sleep apnea who are intolerant of continuous positive airway pressure therapy or prefer alternate therapy.
Here are five key notes:
1. The new guideline supports increased teamwork between physicians and dentists to achieve optimal treatment of patients with OSA.
2. Published online in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, the new guidelines update practice parameters published by the AASM in 2006.
3. Data shows that oral appliance therapy can significantly reduce sleep-disordered breathing, and patient adherence to the treatment may be higher than for CPAP therapy.
4. After a sleep physician prescribes oral appliance therapy, treatment should be provided by a qualified dentist using a custom, titratable device, according to the guidelines.
5. An oral appliance seeks to maintain an open and unobstructed airway during sleep by protruding and stabilizing the mandible.
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