EVERETT — Many people are familiar with the medical concept of CPAP or continuous positive airway pressure. CPAP masks and machines are a common therapy for sleep breathing disorders such as sleep apnea, a condition that is said to affect up to 40 million people.
But there is another lesser-known therapy that is available locally. Oral appliance therapy, or OAT, is another effective treatment that is covered by most insurance and Medicare.
These specially fitted oral appliances for sleep breathing disorders were once only available in larger cities, but for the last two years, Everett Dental Solutions for Sleep has been supplying residents in Snohomish County.
Company founder Donald Crow, DDS, originally began offering OAT through his longtime general dentistry practice in Everett. But the referrals quickly began to stack up and it was clear to him that the treatment was effective and comfortable for his patients.
“Having been able to make such a dramatic improvement in quality of life for patients with obstructive sleep apnea, I made it a goal to make oral appliance therapy a larger portion of my services,” Crow said.
He opened Everett Dental Solutions for Sleep in June 2010. Practicing within the guidelines of both the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine, Crow offers professional fitting of the FDA-approved medical devices.
A lot of people prefer OAT devices because they’re unobtrusive. Held entirely inside the mouth, the appliances aren’t readily apparent to sleep partners and they’re easy to pack and store because of their small size.
The appliances are manufactured by a number of different companies and come in a wide variety of shapes and styles for good reason. Because no two people are exactly alike, what fits comfortably in one person’s mouth may be extremely uncomfortable or ineffective for another person.
For OAT therapy to be effective, the device has to fit properly and be comfortable enough to be used as prescribed. This is why it is important to have a professional trained in dental sleep medicine to accurately fit the appliance and then monitor the therapy, Crow said.
When properly fitted with the correct device, the compliance rate for OAT is high. Research has suggested it is more than 90 percent, with about nine of 10 patients still using their appliance after one year. Based on his own observations with patients, Crow believes these figures to be accurate.
Estimated compliance figures are not as high with CPAP therapy. While CPAP is extremely effective, there are a number of patients who find they can’t tolerate it. The machines are quiet but some patients still find the slight hum annoying. Other patients dislike wearing the CPAP mask or complain of dry eyes or other irritations.
Unfortunately, instead of returning to their physicians with the information that CPAP isn’t working for them, many patients independently discontinue the therapy and remain unaware of the alternatives.
Discontinuation of treatment, whether CPAP or OAT, is potentially dangerous. Untreated sleep apnea puts patients at increased risk for serious health conditions including Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, irregular heartbeat and heart attack.
In an ironic twist, there is also a correlation between sleep apnea and obesity. While weight loss can often help in the treatment of sleep apnea, studies have shown that untreated sleep apnea can make it harder for those same patients to lose weight.
Statistics have also demonstrated that people with untreated sleep apnea are more likely to be involved in a car accident.
OAT is often used in the treatment of snoring, another common condition that is associated with increased health risks like hypertension, heart attack and stroke. Snoring can be detrimental to the snorer’s bed partner, too. Fragmented sleep from the sound of snoring is said to lead to many of the same health risks faced by the snorer.
Everett Dental Solutions for Sleep provides OAT for both snorers and those with sleep disordered breathing. Crow’s continuing education in the field, complemented with his experience in the diagnosis and treatment of acute face pain and temporomandibular dysfunction, additionally allows him to manage symptoms that sometime occur with OAT.
Recently, Medicare named Crow as a durable medical equipment supplier for OAT. He was the first local member of the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine and regularly attends rounds at North Puget Sound Center for Sleep Disorders in Everett.
Get some help
The staff at Everett Dental Solutions for Sleep can answer questions regarding treatment or medical billing. For more information call 425-953-2644 or go to www.EvSleep.com.
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