Oral devices for treating sleep apnoea should only be considered after every effort to use CPAP has failed as they are just not as effective, a Sydney sleep expert says.

People need to know that in about one third of cases, these devices – usually mandibular advancement splints – will not be beneficial, respiratory and sleep physician, Associate Professor Andrew Chan said on a recent Healthed podcast.

Of course, it would be ideal if we could look at some predictors that might help us assess whether such a splint was going to work in a particular patient, especially as these patients will have already tried and failed CPAP therapy and the fact that these oral devices are not subsidised by Medicare, so they can be expensive.