Oral Appliance Therapy Success in Toothless Patients

Dr. Barry Freydberg, a Sleep Group Solutions Presenter, reports on a creative OAT solution for the Edentulous Patient.  Upcoming lecture locations with SGS include Portland, ME, Cleveland and Little Rock.

(Miami, FL)  Do you snore?  Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity are common diseases found in many sleep apnea victims.   Oral Appliance Therapy is a successful treatment for mild to moderate OSA sufferers, even for the toothless patient.   A recent article published in The Sleep Magazine, by Dr. Barry Freydberg,  explains OAT success in the edentulous patient.  Dr. Freydberg is a lecturer on Dental Sleep Medicine for Sleep Group Solutions, with upcoming SGS lectures in Maine, Cleveland and Little Rock.

“Dealing with edentulous OSA patients can be a challenge,” says Dr. Freydberg. Sometimes wearing the denture at night keeps the jaw forward and that’s all the patient may need to manage sleep apnea symptoms.  “Although, tongue-retaining devices can also work, but long-term compliance is very weak.”  Dr. Freydberg treated a 65 yo female with a BMI of 19.4, with no teeth, successfully, with a new set of dentures, implants, and a dorsal appliance.

“A new set of dentures was made with the corrected vertical dimension and with good occlusion. Four implants were placed in the mandible and attached to the new lower denture.”  says Dr. Freydberg on the therapy.  “With this, the patient reported a dissipation of jaw and muscle pain.”  The new denture was used as the baseline vertical and anterior-posterior position for establishing the jaw position for an oral appliance.

Two subsequent sleep studies were performed, the first to check Dr. Freydberg’s work, and the second as a final sleep study for the sleep MD.  Read Dr. Freydberg’s case review if full here.  Oral Appliance Therapy is a proven effective way to manage and treat OSA, in many different types of patients.  To learn a Sleep protocol and how to manage cases, attend a lecture with Sleep Group Solutions; upcoming lectures include Portland (Maine), Cleveland and Little Rock.  More info here.