CPAP + Oral Appliance (All-In-One) Device for OSA

A dentist colleague of mine informed me of a new device that combines CPAP mask with an oral appliance for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (CPAP Pro + Mandibular Advancement).

The unique benefits of this combo device are several-fold:

• No straps
• Keeps mouth closed
• Addresses tongue collapse that obstruct the airway by bringing jaw forward
• Can sleep in any position

This device does need to be fitted by a dentist. (For Virginia residents, Dr. Jason Woodside is familiar with this product.)

Of course, it is relatively new and we'll see if patients love this combo CPAP mask more than the traditional masks that have been on the market.

For those patients who do NOT have a problem with tongue collapse, but prefer the no-straps solution of the oral appliance, the company does make a mouthguard that fits only the upper teeth.

Realistic Face Masks

With halloween coming up and more face transplants occurring to address severe facial disfigurement, it was only a matter of time when a commercial company can recreate a 3-dimensional replica of a person's face. Unlike medical facial transplants which creates a face that's a cross between the donor face and the patient's face prior to disfigurement, these faces are perfect replicas down to scars, blood vessels, skin pores, etc.

Well, there's a Japanese company called Real-f 3 Dimension Photo Forms that can produce a realistic mask of yours or anybody else's face.

But... they are expensive running $4000 - $6000.

Check out more realistic face masks the company has created on their facebook page.

Facial Fracture Face Mask for Athletes?

I often see kids/adults with minor facial fractures that do not require any surgical intervention. These same kids/adults often play sports that often led to their initial facial fracture which they do not want to give up until complete healing has occurred (baseball, basketball, skateboarding, etc).

Here's one for nasal fractures: