Seamless Integration
Implementing a sleep program shouldn’t disrupt your workflow. Our team provides end-to-end support, from patient screening to follow-up care, allowing you to offer Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) with minimal staff involvement.
Effective OSA Treatment
Physicians
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a widespread but often undiagnosed condition that significantly impacts cardiovascular health, metabolic function, and overall quality of life. As healthcare providers, identifying and treating OSA is critical in reducing the long-term risks associated with untreated sleep-disordered breathing. While CPAP therapy has long been the standard treatment, many patients struggle with compliance, leaving them vulnerable to ongoing health complications.
Traditional treatment with CPAP machines has low patient compliance due to discomfort. This is where DSM-MD’s integrated sleep program provides a game-changing alternative.
Understanding OSA
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a serious sleep-related breathing disorder that causes partial or complete airway blockages during sleep. These interruptions, known as apneas and hypopneas, last at least 10 seconds and can occur hundreds of times per night. As airflow decreases, oxygen levels drop by as much as 40% in severe cases, triggering brief awakenings that fragment sleep and leave patients feeling exhausted during the day.
Prevalence and Undiagnosed Cases
OSA can affect individuals of any age, but its prevalence rises significantly in middle and older age groups. Studies show that:
- 4% of men and 2% of women experience OSA with daytime sleepiness.
- 24% of men and 9% of women exhibit OSA-related breathing disturbances, even without excessive fatigue.
- 80-90% of adults with OSA remain undiagnosed, increasing their risk for severe health complications.
The Serious Health Effects of OSA
Untreated OSA can lead to life-threatening conditions, including:
- Fluctuating oxygen levels and increased heart rate
- Chronic hypertension and elevated daytime blood pressure
- Increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease
- Impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance
- Difficulty concentrating, mood changes, and memory issues
- Higher risk of motor vehicle accidents due to excessive daytime sleepiness
- Disrupted sleep patterns that affect both the patient and their bed partner
How Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) Addresses OSA
OAT offers an effective, non-invasive alternative to CPAP by preventing airway collapse. Unlike CPAP, which forces air through the airway, OAT gently repositions the jaw to maintain an open airway naturally. This approach significantly reduces daytime fatigue, improves cognitive function, and enhances overall quality of life while ensuring better compliance due to comfort and ease of use.
The Role of Mandibular Jaw Position in OSA
Jaw posture plays a critical role in airway stability during sleep. By addressing mandibular positioning, OAT provides a targeted, patient-friendly solution that enhances airway stability and promotes restful sleep. Research shows that:
- Mouth opening increases upper airway collapsibility, worsening OSA symptoms.
- Patients with OSA exhibit greater vertical jaw displacement during sleep compared to healthy individuals.
- Maximal mouth opening can contribute to airway obstruction, particularly under sedation.
- Increased mandibular jaw movement (>0.3 mm) during sleep is a key characteristic of OSA-related respiratory effort.
The Solution
Oral Appliance Therapy
Why Oral Appliance Therapy?
Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) is a non-invasive, cost-effective solution for managing OSA, offering greater comfort and higher patient compliance compared to CPAP. It effectively reduces daytime sleepiness, enhances overall well-being, and improves perceived health status. Additionally, OAT has been shown to boost cognitive function and psychomotor performance, including faster reaction times and reduced fatigue. For patients who struggle with CPAP intolerance, OAT provides a highly effective alternative and can also be used alongside CPAP for enhanced treatment outcomes.
OAT provides the same health benefits as CPAP while offering superior patient compliance.
With an 80% success rate, OAT is a proven solution for mild, moderate, and even severe OSA cases.
All without the common CPAP challenges of:
- Struggling to adjust to mask pressure and discomfort
- Ongoing costs for replacement parts and supplies
- Feeling worse after using CPAP than before treatment
- Persistent daytime fatigue despite CPAP use
How DSM-MD Supports Physicians
Our Approach
Research consistently demonstrates that OAT is an effective and patient-friendly treatment option for OSA. It offers similar health benefits as CPAP, with greater patient compliance and improved quality of life. By incorporating OAT into your practice, you can provide your patients with a comfortable and effective alternative to CPAP, leading to better treatment outcomes and improved sleep health.
At DSM-MD, we partner with physicians to provide a streamlined, patient-friendly solution for OSA management. Our integrated sleep program ensures that patients receive effective, evidence-based treatment while minimizing the administrative burden on your practice. We work closely with you to enhance patient outcomes, improve adherence, and expand access to alternative therapies beyond CPAP.
Revenue Growth
Through our collaborative model, physicians can generate a passive revenue stream without additional overhead.
Patient-Centered Care
We prioritize patient education and engagement, helping individuals understand their treatment options while maximizing their medical benefits. This leads to higher compliance, improved sleep health, and better long-term outcomes.
Compliance & Billing Support
Navigating insurance and billing for sleep medicine can be complex. DSM-MD takes care of the administrative and legal aspects, ensuring smooth reimbursement while keeping your practice compliant with industry standards.
In patients with evaluable data, there was an 80% success rate for treatment of OSA using a custom-fabricated adjustable MAD including substantial numbers of patients with moderate and severe disease.
Research
01A randomized controlled trial showed that OAT reduced 24-hour diastolic blood pressure and improved blood pressure during the early morning.
In a crossover trial of 61 adults with polysomnography-confirmed OSA, four weeks of mandibular advancement splint therapy produced a significant fall in 24-hour diastolic blood pressure, driven mostly by a drop of about 3 mmHg in the early morning, with a similar early-morning drop in systolic pressure.
Gotsopoulos H, Kelly JJ, Cistulli PA. Oral appliance therapy reduces blood pressure in obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized, controlled trial. Sleep. 2004;27(5):934–41.
Read on PubMed02A study found that OAT achieved similar improvements in quality of life and daytime sleepiness as CPAP, with greater patient compliance.
CPAP and mandibular advancement devices produced comparable gains in daytime sleepiness and quality of life. Patients wore their oral appliance an average of 6.5 hours a night versus 5.2 hours for CPAP, which helps explain why the two therapies land at similar real-world effectiveness.
Phillips CL, Grunstein RR, Darendeliler MA, et al. Health outcomes of continuous positive airway pressure versus oral appliance treatment for obstructive sleep apnea: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013;187(8):879–87.
Read on PubMed03One study found significant improvements in cognitive and psychomotor performance in patients with mild to moderate OSA.
Over one year of mandibular advancement device therapy, patients with mild to moderate OSA improved on perceptive ability, convergent thinking, and psychomotor reaction time, alongside less daytime sleepiness and better quality of life.
Galic T, Bozic J, Ivkovic N, et al. Improvement of cognitive and psychomotor performance in patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea treated with mandibular advancement device: a prospective 1-year study. J Clin Sleep Med. 2016;12(2):177–86.
Read on PubMed