Patients who say I Hate CPAP! often love their oral appliances that are the cpap alternative.

United States of America (Press Release) January 26, 2008 -- Treatment of Sleep Apnea is most commonly done with CPAP. CPAP is very effective but unfortunately many patients cannot adapt to wearing CPAP. The most common complaint heard from patients is I HATE CPAP. In fact, studies have shown that only 23-45% of patients actually use their CPAP and the one who do use it generally wear it only 4-5 hours a night not the recommended 7 1/2 hours a night. The reasons vary. Some are bothered by the noise of the cpap machine, others do not like the claustrophobic feeling the mask causes, some feel tethered by the hose. Many patients report problems with allergies, acne, bronchitis, dizziness, dry mouth or dry nose. Other patients get chronic sinus infections. People who travel frequently find the new TSA rules on CPAP to be onerus and many leave their cpap at home.
Whatever the reasons people have for not using their cpap they still have a serious medical disorder that requires treatment. Dr Chafkin loves being able to change peoples lives by providing sleep apnea treatment that the patients can live with.

Doctors trained in sleep apnea treatment like Dr Chafkin find that a majority of patients who are offered a choice between cpap and oral appliances chose to use an oral appliance. WWW.ihatecpap.com helps patients find sleep apnea dentists.

It is very important to do follow-up sleep studies with oral appliances to make sure treatment is effective. The website www.ihatecpap.com is an excellent resource for information on oral appliance therapy for sleep apnea.

Sleep and Health Journal has several articles on dental sleep medicine comparing oral appliances to cpap and surgery. Several links are listed below to find information on comfortable oral appliances as a cpap alternative.

Surgery less effective than oral appliances
http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=55&tid=22

Oral appliances vs. CPAP
http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=130&tid=22

Index of dental sleep medicine articles
http://sleepandhealth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=topics&tid=22

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute report on cardiovascular and sleep related consequences of TMJ Disorders. This is a excellent report for anyone wanting to understand sleep apnea better.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/meetings/workshops/tmj_wksp.pdf

http://www.ihatecpap.com

Contact Dr Chafkin thru the find a dentist section of www.ihatecpap.com in MA