Does Jaw Surgery Cure Sleep Apnea?

Yes-Most of the time. And it is the most likely treatment to do so.   More likely than CPAP.  More likely than Mandibular Appliances.  More likely than Inspire or other hypoglossal nerve stimulators.

In reality this is a complex question. To answer it, we much be clear in what we do and do not know.

WHAT WE KNOW:

Jaw Surgery or maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) is the most effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).  More effective than CPAP, mandibular appliances, and other surgeries including Inspire. This is because it is the only one of these options which requires no maintenance, supplies, or compliance.

CPAP and mandibular appliances require you to wear them.  If you don’t, you might as well not have them. Jaw Surgery means you merely go to sleep to have the benefits. This has been proven across many studies for decades.

While MMA is the most effective and well-known jaw surgery for OSA, there are other options that can be used either individually or in conjunction with MMA.  These include maxillary and mandibular expansion, Tori removal, Genioglossus Advancement (also called Genial Tubercle Advancement), and others.

Jaw Surgery improves all types of airway collapse.  In your research of certain OSA treatments you may come across terms such as Anterior-Posterior airway collapse, circumferential collapse, and others.  Certain treatments treat only certain types of collapse (Inspire) while CPAP and Jaw Surgery treat all types.

Jaw Surgery improves your airway at ALL LEVELS. Inspire and mandibular appliances only help your airway at the level of your tongue by moving the tongue forward.  Jaw Surgery not only does this to a greater extent but also helps your nasal airway by increasing its size and volume.

Jaw Surgery helps your breathing AT ALL TIMES. CPAP, Mandibular Appliances, and Inspire only help when you are asleep (and still less so) and when you wear them or turn them on.  Jaw surgery improves breathing during the day and while asleep.

Jaw Surgery improves breathing in all sleep positions.  You can sleep however you want without limitations and see improvement

Jaw Surgery often improves esthetics.  Form and function often coincide to where people with restricted airways tend to have restricted or smaller jaws that improve esthetically with jaw surgery

Jaw Surgery is the treatment used when everything else fails. We frequently see patients who fail CPAP, appliances, and Inspire who either cannot tolerate these treatments or don’t see adequate improvement with them.  We wish patients knew that do not have to fail first.

Jaw Surgery is typically not very painful.  This is a common misconception.  Jaw Surgery requires recovery and should not be taken lightly. However, pain is rarely an issue for patients and in our practice only approximately 50% of our jaw surgery patients require any opioids treat their pain.

WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW:

If Jaw surgery will cure YOUR sleep apnea. Individual patients differ in their anatomy and their response to surgery.  Whether or not you be cured is unknown, but what is known is that jaw surgery is the most likely treatment to achieve a cure.

If your symptoms will improve with any treatment.  With OSA, patient’s symptoms do not always directly follow the severity of the disease.  For instance, a patient with severe OSA may not feel fatigue or brain fog while another with mild OSA may be miserable. But again, Jaw Surgery is the most likely treatment to improve your symptoms.

If Jaw Surgery is the most appropriate treatment for your specific situation.  In our initial 90-minute consultation we will evaluate you and discuss all options that are appropriate.  We work with ENTs, dentists, and other providers whom you can be referred to if we feel another treatment is the most appropriate.

At Arizona Jaw Surgery, we regularly perform sleep apnea surgery (see our before and after gallery) and Dr. Wasson is the only Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon in Arizona who is a fellow in the International Society of Sleep Surgeons (ISSS).  We offer all types of jaw surgery procedures so that you are not limited to a single treatment option that may not be best suited for your condition.