After reading some of the earlier messages I thought my years of experience with various apnea devices might be useful.
The first device was acrilic with metal spring wires embedded.   It was worked up by an orthodontist, and worked quite well.   There was some pain when new but the teeth moved to accommodate it.   Eventually it became loose, and they added acrilic.   This worked, but the adding on process was a bit touchy - as the acrilic set up, the device had to be removed during the process so it didn't bond to your teeth.   The orthodontist's techs were very good at this, but when he retired things turned to glue - literaly.   I went to another dentist who didn't get the timing right, and I thought I was going to be on a soup diet!   He did manage to cut the device off.   I changed dentists, and the new one was the Glidewell contact.
 
I got a Silent Nite, which was better in that it had the hinge bars which allows the jaw to move but not fall back.
They do need to be replaced after a while, but while they are snug, they work well.   I am using the Silent Nite for apnea rather than a snore reducer.   The TAP looks a bit like my first device in that it appears to be more one piece with the difference that it is adjustable front to back.  However I have no experiance with it.
I may have a variable that makes a difference - I had my soft palate removed in an earlier attempt to solve the apnea.   This worked for about a year, which was not worth the two weeks of world class sore throat, but it may allow the Silent Nite to work better for me than someone with a palate.   Probably the best way to sort that out is with x-rays of the neck area by someone who can read those kind of situations.

Have you had a sleep study to show that the device is effective?  


Sorry if I sound skeptical.  We see WAY too many folks with their first post touting a "cure" for apnea that is NOT FDA approved.  (or only approved for reducing snoring)  Bring some proof, and we are more than willing to listen.  (proof = sleep study with measurable effects.  NOT "I feel great, so it must work.")



Last edited by Mike on Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:37 am; edited 1 time in total

I had a sleep study at Stanford that led to the original device which worked to the extent that I felt another study would have only told me what I already knew - that the device plus the soft palate worked to solve my particular level of apnea.   This previously involved frequent episodes of airway obstruction - as reported by my wife.
These did not recur until the device became loose, whereupon i had it recoated with acrylic.
The Silent Nite has this same cycle.   I have lived with this situation long enough to have experience that I feel is worth sharing - for what it's worth.

You need to have a sleep study WITH the device.  Even folks that are on CPAP end up with that.  (during the titration study)  How can anyone know if it has reduced AHI to an acceptable level?  Sure, you might not snore and you might be getting a little bit better sleep, but are you still having oxygen desats?  Without measuring it, its not proven.  Without measuring it, you might be fooling yourself into a false sense of security.

Mike,

You're probably right in a rigourous sense, however I have lived with this long enough (20 years +or-) to have a pretty good feel for when the device has gotten too loose to do the job - and what I feel like during the day if it is not working well - so that I make that determination.   I have found that there may be enough possible variables in the testing process, so that I tend to look at results over a period of time.

Then again, you are touting an unproven device, with subjective results ("I feel better")  

I don't doubt your sincerity, I doubt the results.  There have been a LOT of folks that thought they "cured" their apnea with this or that gadget and when they were actually tested found that it didn't resolve it.  (Look up Placebo effect)  

For your health, get a study done WITH the device, make sure that it really IS treating you.  Having something that you "think" is treating you is worse in my mind than no treatment at all.

I tried the Silent Nite device for about 6 months, but kept breaking it.  My dentist says I have a super jaw.  I do have to say it was very comfortable and quite effective. (personal opinion)  I have been using the TAP-T for 6 weeks now and it is a great improvement.  I am sleeping very well, my wife says I'm very quiet.  My bed is not all messed up in the morning.  My energy level is so greatly improved.  Maybe a coincidence, but in the 6 weeks now I have not woke up congested with a headache, which I thought was normal!  The TAP-T  took a little more getting used to, but after a few nights, I went right to sleep.  In the morning, I have to excercise the jaw for a few minutes with the bite strips to get my bite back to normal again,  but I use the time to clean and dry the device..

Oh and before you chime in Mike.  I have mild OSA, and extreme snoring.  I have not been retested with the device yet,  will be doing that in a couple months as my otolaryngologist is very curious as well.  I am only reporting on the main symptoms that my family and I have observed.  I do have to say though, that I have not felt this good in a long time. My wife is sleeping with me again which hasn't happened regularly in years.  Keeping my fingers crossed!  i will report back when I have been tested again.

A sleep study showed that I have mild sleep apnea. A second study with a C-PAP machine which showed that with the machine at a certain pressure it decreased my apnea about 50%. They sent me home with the machine at a higher pressure hoping to decrease the apnea even more. I used the machine for about 7 weeks just about every night (I missed one or two nights). In the meantime I got a Silent Nite as I had heard that they could be effective for Sleep Apnea and I was having trouble with the C-PAP machine, mask, etc. and didn't "feel" all that much better. I used the Silent Nite for one week as I was out of town in the wilderness with no power for the machine. I felt great every day when I woke up! I had the results of my C-PAP machine downloaded and they showed about 50% decrease in sleep apnea events. I took an Oximeter home (as per a prescription of my doctor who works in conjunction with the sleep clinic) and used it with only the Silent Nite. I was so suprised to hear that the Silent Nite alone improved my sleep apnea by 88%! It did such a good job, by itself, that my Doctor had me return the C-PAP and said to use the Silent Nite for the next few months. It worked for me and I have actual sleep study type results to prove it!