Oral Appliances to Help Correct Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

In the November 2009 issue of ENT Today (vol 4; number 11), there was an interesting article titled "Evaluation and Management of Patients After Unsuccessful Sleep Apnea Surgery."

What I found particulary informative was the picture that came with the article which I have reproduced below. It is basically a list of all the companies who make oral appliances specifically for patients with obstructive sleep apnea. How nice!

Regardless of the company, they all have the same basic feature of having both an upper and lower occlusal guard which can be adjusted in order to bring the lower jaw forward to prevent obstruction due to tongue collapse. Though our office does not offer any of these devices, some dentists and oral surgeons do. There are also OTC oral appliances one can obtain (which of course do not work as well).

Oral Appliance Can Help With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

In the September 2009 edition of Archives of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, there was a research paper entitled "An Investigation of Upper Airway Changes Associated with Mandibular Advancement Device Using Sleep Video Fluoroscopy in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea" where use of an oral appliance was found to significantly improve obstructive sleep apnea. The oral appliance increased retropalatal and retrolingual spaces as well as decreased the length of the soft palate and the angle of mouth opening.

Increased retropalatal space and decreased length of the soft palate is similar to what is accomplished by the surgical procedure uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP).

Increased retrolingual space is similar to what is accomplished by the base of tongue reduction surgery.

Click here to read more about this research.

Click here to read more about OSA and its treatment.