Guidelines

 

Standards Paper

Dental Sleep Medicine Standards for Screening, Treatment, and Management of Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders in Adults Using Oral Appliance Therapy: An Update

This document was published in the October 2022 issue of the Journal of Dental Sleep Medicine and updated in April 2025. It provides guidance for patient examination, patient screening, education and treatment management.

View Standards

Consensus Papers

Consensus papers are developed by an expert panel using a rigorous, non-systematic review of literature and consensus agreement.


Novel Therapies for Preventing, Managing and Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring in Pediatric and Adult Patients

This paper provides guidance on several emerging therapies for OSA and snoring in both adults and children, including functional appliances, myofunctional orthodontics, expansion, myofunctional therapy, lingual and buccal releases, and ablative and nonablative laser therapy.

View Consensus Paper on Novel Therapies

Defining and Measuring Compliance with Oral Appliance Therapy

This paper defines compliance with oral appliance therapy and provides guidance for measuring patient compliance with oral appliance therapy. 

View Consensus Paper on Compliance

Identifying the Appropriate Therapeutic Position of an Oral Appliance

This paper  reviews the most clinically useful methods for identifying the therapeutic position of an appliance and provides a protocol for each method.

View Consensus Paper on Therapeutic Positioning

Management of Side Effects of Oral Appliance Therapy for Sleep-Disordered Breathing

This paper provides  recommendations for managing the most common side effects encountered in oral appliance therapy.

View Side Effect Recommendations

Definition of an Effective Oral Appliance

This paper, originally published in 2014, provides an evidence-based definition of an effective oral appliance and establishes a standardized benchmark for both research and clinical practice. The definition was updated in 2019 to reflect latest evidence and clinical practice.
 
 

Policy and Position Statements

Policy and position statements are developed by task forces based on literature reviews, extensive clinical experience and professional expertise.


Adequate Oral Appliance Therapy Trial Prior to Surgical Treatment

This paper indicates that it is the position of the AADSM that patients with OSA should be referred to a qualified dentist for an oral appliance trial prior to surgical treatment. It also provides guidance appropriately conducting an oral appliance trial prior to surgical treatment. 

View OAT Trial Paper

The Role of Temporary Appliances in Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment

This paper reviews considerations for using temporary appliances. The paper was published in 2023. It, along with current literature, was reviewed by a task force 2025 and no updates were deemed necessary.

View Temporary Appliances Paper

Reimbursement of Oral Appliance Therapy

These papers indicate that it is the position of the AADSM that oral appliance therapy should be reimbursed, both as a first-line therapy for obstructive sleep apnea and in cases of CPAP intolerance. 
 

Archive of AADSM Guidelines

AADSM guidelines are periodically reviewed for content and relevance in order to ensure the field has the most up-to-date information and guidance. When more current guidelines are available, outdated guidelines are archived. A list of archived guidelines can be accessed below.