CPAP

CPAP ranks right up there with the best of Aussie inventions. Whether you love CPAP or hate CPAP, it has definitely been the major innovation in the treatment of sleep. Before the invention of CPAP by Professor Colin Sullivan the treatment for severe sleep apnoea was tracheotomy, so having some air blown down your throat suddenly doesn’t seem too bad.

Not everyone with sleep apnoea needs to wear a CPAP, and not everyone with mild to moderate sleep apnoea can do without. A classification of mild sleep apnoea can occur even when the apnoea is very severe for limited times of the night, maybe related to a problem with your nose, or may be limited to when you are lying on your back, so a discussion of treatment needs to consider this, and the fact that the treatment required can be affected by the presence of other medical issues such as heart or thyroid problems, and yes weight.

The thing about treatments for apnoea (except for the old tracheotomy) is that they only work while you are wearing them, regardless of whether you are using a CPAP, or the alternative of a mandibular advancement splint to open the airway. So wearing a splint for the night is very likely better for you than wearing a CPAP for only a few hours.

Sometimes it is important to have a dentist assess your mouth as well before wearing CPAP, because having really worn down teeth, or poor dentures may mean that the amount of pressure needed to make the CPAP effective is increased to an uncomfortable level.

So it is important to discuss treatment with a dentist who is very familiar with all of the aspects of sleep apnoea and its treatment and the way that your teeth can affect that.