Can Oral Appliance Therapy Help Your Heart? New Study Suggests Yes

Written By Nick Koogler

If you’ve been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), you probably already know it affects your sleep—but it also puts a serious strain on your heart and blood vessels.

Many people turn to CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) to treat their sleep apnea, but a growing number are using custom oral appliances instead—and now, a major clinical study confirms they may offer cardiovascular benefits too.

Why This Study Matters

OSA causes repeated oxygen drops and sleep disruptions throughout the night. This triggers:

  • Blood pressure spikes

  • Increased heart rate

  • Higher inflammation

  • Long-term risk of heart disease, stroke, and early mortality

Treating OSA helps reduce these risks—and this new study set out to see how well oral appliance therapy (OAT) performs compared to CPAP in protecting heart health.

What the Study Looked At

This large-scale study involved 355 patients with OSA and high cardiovascular risk. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either:

  • CPAP therapy, or

  • Mandibular advancement device therapy (a type of oral appliance)

Researchers then measured outcomes related to:

  • Blood pressure

  • Arterial health

  • Heart rhythm

  • Daytime function and quality of life

The study followed patients for several months to assess real-world impact on cardiovascular markers.

Key Results

  • Both CPAP and oral appliance therapy showed benefits for cardiovascular health

  • Blood pressure improved in both groups

  • Patients using oral appliances showed better adherence and comfort, leading to more consistent nightly use

  • No major difference in cardiovascular event risk was found between the two therapies over the short term

In patients who were more compliant with oral appliances, the cardiovascular benefits were comparable to CPAP.

How Oral Appliances Work

Custom mandibular advancement devices (MADs) work by:

  • Repositioning the lower jaw forward

  • Opening the airway space behind the tongue

  • Reducing snoring, apneas, and oxygen desaturation events

They are:

  • Quiet and mask-free

  • Easy to travel with

  • Often better tolerated by patients who can’t use CPAP


What This Means for Your Heart

Treating sleep apnea is critical for long-term heart health. This study shows:

  • If you can’t tolerate CPAP, a properly fitted oral appliance is a clinically effective alternative

  • By improving oxygen flow and reducing nighttime stress, oral appliances may help lower blood pressure and reduce cardiovascular strain

This is especially important for:

  • Patients with high blood pressure

  • Those at risk of heart disease or stroke

  • People looking for a comfortable, effective, non-invasive treatment

TL;DR

  • Oral appliances (OAT) improve cardiovascular markers in patients with OSA

  • Their benefits may be comparable to CPAP in many real-world cases—especially with better adherence

  • They can help reduce blood pressure and nighttime oxygen stress

  • Oral appliance therapy is a proven treatment option for people with heart risk factors and sleep apnea

Source:
Pépin JL, et al. Cardiovascular Outcomes of Mandibular Advancement Device Versus CPAP in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2023.

Nick Koogler
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