How does oral appliance therapy compare with CPAP. Are there studies that explain this?
When it became apparent that Oral Appliance Therapy was legitimate and desirable part of the treatment mix, questions naturally arose regarding its comparative effectiveness with positive airway pressure modalities. Recently, four studies have focused on Oral Appliance Therapy going head to head with nasal CPAP. Three of them used a cross-over design and the fourth a parallel group design. All of the investigations were randomized, controlled treatment trials. Each of the studies focused on effectiveness as a product of the treatment efficacy in combination with acceptance and adherence to treatment. Treatment efficacy was similar in all the trials and did not deviate significantly from past investigations. It was shown that Oral Appliance Therapy often, but not always decreased the apnea-hypopnea index whereas CPAP nearly always resolved sleep disordered breathing entirely. Acceptance and adherence to treatment with CPAP was limited while that of Oral Appliance Therapy was less so res
