Do Mouth Guards Work for Moderate Sleep Apnea?

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to this forum and have some questions about a recent diagnosis and what your thoughts are.

A little background: I was diagnosed with mild to moderate in 2015 and got a CPAP. The CPAP did not work well for me (inflated my stomach and could not sleep). I wound up ditching it after four months because I was so incredibly frustrated.

Fast forward to present day: Decided to look into alternative treatments (like a mouth guard) because I'm still tired all of the time. Went to a new sleep doctor and had a home study done. Just got the results done and was told that I have moderate sleep apnea. The medical assistant was reading my results and said (and I quote): "It's likely moderate because you've gained weight in the past four years and the doctor doesn't recommend a mouthguard at this point."

Let me be clear, I'm 5'8" and I'm 138 lbs. I'm not overweight. I've never been overweight. I was underweight in 2015 and worked hard to gain the weight to be healthy (I was 107 lbs.). I'm baffled how a doctor can make that kind of recommendation based on one home sleep study and how she thinks that because I gained weight for health reasons that now my apnea is suddenly "worse".

My question is, can a mouth guard help moderate sleep apnea? Has anyone had success with moderate apnea and a mouth guard? Should I see a different doctor?

Thanks!

See a reputable sleep dentist. I can only assume that by "mouth guard", you mean a dental appliance and one may actually provide effective therapy that will relieve your sleep issues.