TITLE:
Effects and Predictions of Oral Appliances in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
AUTHORS:
Mitsunori Uno, Ryugo Nonogaki, Masakazu Kurachi, Hajime Ishigami
KEYWORDS:
Oral Appliances, Polysomnography, Obstructive Sleep Apnea
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Stomatology,
Vol.13 No.1,
January
17,
2023
ABSTRACT: Since April 2004, the Asahi University Medical and Dental Center (hereinafter referred to as our center) has been providing oral appliances (hereinafter referred to as OA) to treat patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea. The effects of using the OA and progress of 71 patients who received treatment at our center by wearing OA from March 2005 to the end of March 2016 were examined through questionnaires sent by physical mail. In 21 of 24 patients who underwent polysomnography after wearing OA, the apnea-hypopnea index (hereinafter referred to as AHI) significantly decreased after wearing OA (9.44 ± 10.37) compared to that before wearing OA (24.02 ± 13.57) (p = 8.7 × 10-8). The results showed that for patients who continuously use OA, it is necessary to have sound sleep/sleep soundly; further, the patients experienced a decrease in snoring when wearing OA, with only a few side effects on the temporomandibular joints and teeth. In addition, the closer the distance from the plane of the lower margin of the mandible to the hyoid bone after wearing OA, the more likely it was for the AHI to decrease, which suggests that wearing OA contributes to the prediction of therapeutic effects.