Treatment Options for Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a common condition where the throat repeatedly closes during sleep. This causes pauses in breathing, loud snoring, and poor sleep quality. Untreated, OSA can raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and car accidents. The good news is—there are many treatment options available.
Healthy Habits for All Patients
Weight loss: Even losing a small amount of weight can improve OSA.
Exercise: Helps overall health and may lower apnea severity.
Sleep position: Sleeping on your side instead of your back can help.
Avoid alcohol and sedatives: These relax the throat muscles and make apnea worse.
Stop smoking: Improves breathing and overall health.
CPAP and PAP Therapy
The most common and effective treatment is positive airway pressure (PAP), often called CPAP. This machine gently blows air into the throat through a mask, keeping the airway open.
Works best for moderate to severe sleep apnea. However, patients with mild sleep apnea with sleepiness and high blood pressure also see significant benefits.
Improves daytime alertness, blood pressure, and quality of life.
Some patients need help adjusting to the mask, but comfort can often be improved with different mask types and settings.
Some patients do have trouble adjusting to using CPAP, but many times their issues can be easily addressed with proper mask choice, fitment and adjustment of CPAP settings.
Oral Appliances
For patients who can’t use CPAP, a dentist can fit a mouthpiece that pulls the jaw forward to keep the throat open. These work well for mild to moderate apnea.
Nerve Stimulation
A newer option is hypoglossal nerve stimulation, commonly referred to as Inspire therapy. A small device is surgically implanted in the chest and stimulates the tongue muscles to keep the airway open during sleep. This is usually for patients with moderate to severe apnea who have tried and cannot tolerate CPAP. Patients that are interested in this option need to be evaluated by a board-certified sleep physician to determine if they qualify this treatment option.
Surgery
Surgery may be considered in special cases, such as large tonsils, jaw problems, or other throat anatomy issues. Options include:
Removing or reshaping throat tissue
Jaw advancement surgery
Tonsil removal
Follow-Up Care
Treatment doesn’t stop after the first step. Regular follow-up helps make sure therapy is working, symptoms improve, and adjustments are made if needed. Some patients may need retesting over time.
Final Thoughts
Sleep apnea is treatable. Most patients improve with lifestyle changes, CPAP, or oral devices. Newer treatments like nerve stimulation and surgery are available for those who need alternatives.
