Oral Appliances Don’t Just Help You Sleep—They May Lower Your Blood Pressure Too
If you’ve been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), you already know how important treatment is for better sleep. But did you know that using a custom oral appliance may also help lower your blood pressure—day and night?
A new systematic review and meta-analysis show that mandibular advancement devices (MADs) do more than just open your airway. They may actually protect your heart by reducing systolic blood pressure—one of the most important numbers in your blood pressure reading.
Why Blood Pressure Matters in Sleep Apnea
OSA causes repeated pauses in breathing while you sleep. This triggers:
Surges in blood pressure
Spikes in heart rate
Low oxygen levels
Chronic stress on your cardiovascular system
Left untreated, OSA can increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, and hypertension.
What Did the Study Look At?
This study combined data from nine high-quality clinical trials involving more than 400 adult patients with OSA who were treated with custom mandibular advancement devices (oral appliances).
Researchers compared patients’ systolic blood pressure (the top number in your reading, representing pressure during heartbeats) before and after treatment—during both:
Daytime (waking hours)
Nighttime (while sleeping)
What They Found
Oral appliances caused a statistically significant reduction in systolic blood pressure.
Blood pressure dropped during both daytime and nighttime.
On average, systolic blood pressure fell by:
2.6 mmHg during the day
3.3 mmHg at night
While these may seem like small numbers, even a 2 mmHg drop in systolic pressure can reduce stroke risk by up to 10% in the general population.
These findings show that mandibular advancement devices provide real cardiovascular benefits—not just symptom relief.
Why Do Oral Appliances Help?
Custom oral appliances work by:
Repositioning the lower jaw forward
Keeping the airway open during sleep
Preventing the oxygen drops and arousals that spike blood pressure
This leads to less nighttime stress on the heart, more restorative sleep, and a reduction in blood pressure strain across the day.
What This Means for Patients
If you:
Have OSA and high blood pressure
Can’t tolerate CPAP
Want a low-maintenance, comfortable treatment option
Are looking to support heart health naturally
… a custom-fitted oral appliance may be a powerful tool in your overall wellness plan.
Real-World Benefit
Lowering blood pressure by even a few points can:
Reduce your risk of heart disease
Lower your chance of stroke
Improve kidney function
Support cognitive health as you age
Combining OSA treatment with blood pressure control is one of the most effective ways to protect long-term health.
TL;DR
A 2024 meta-analysis found that oral appliances reduce systolic blood pressure in OSA patients
Average drop: ~2.6 mmHg during the day and ~3.3 mmHg at night
Even small reductions in blood pressure can lower risk of heart disease and stroke
If you have sleep apnea and high blood pressure, a mandibular advancement device may improve both sleep and cardiovascular health
Source:Belanche Monterde A, Zubizarreta-Macho Á, Lobo Galindo AB, et al. Mandibular Advancement Devices Decrease Systolic Pressure During the Day and Night in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sleep and Breathing. 2024;28:1037–1049.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-023-02984-0