Sleep Apnea Treatments - Oral appliances:

• Dental appliances, or oral mandibular advancement devices, can be made that prevent the tongue from occluding the throat and/or advance the lower jaw forward when one is lying down.

These adjustments help keep the airway open during sleep. Such devices can be specifically, designed by dentists with special expertise in treating sleep apnea.

Surgical Sleep Apnea Treatments:

• Surgical procedures may help people with sleep apnea. There are many types of surgical sleep apnea treatments, some of which are performed as outpatient procedures.
• Surgery for sleep apnea is reserved for people with upper airway obstruction such as a deviated nasal septum, markedly enlarged tonsils or small lower jaw with an overbite causing the throat to be abnormally narrow.

These procedures are typically performed after sleep apnea has failed to respond to conservative measures and a trial of CPAP.

Surgical Sleep Apnea Treatments include:

• Somnoplasty: A minimally invasive procedure that uses radiofrequency energy to reduce the soft tissue in the upper airway.
• Uyulopalatopharyngoplasty [UPPP]: A procedure that removes soft tissue on the back of the throat and palate, increasing the width of the airway at the throat opening.
• Mandibular maxillar advancement surgery: A surgical correction of certain facial abnormalities or throat obstructions that contribute to sleep apnea. This is an invasive procedure that is reserved for patients with severe sleep apnea with craniofacial abnormalities.
• Nasal surgery: Correction of nasal obstructions such as a deviated septum.
• Tongue reduction surgery: It is used to decrease the size of the base of tongue and to open the airway.
• Tracheotomy: A tracheotomy is a procedure to bypass the narrowed airway.
• Bariatric surgery: Bariatric surgery is associated with a marked reduction in weight post-operatively.
• Genioglossus advancement: The Genio-Glossus Advancement (GGA) is a procedure to open the upper breathing passage.