Role of Oral Appliances in the Management of Sleep Disorders.

BACKGROUND A study was undertaken with the aim to evaluate the therapeutic and clinical efficacy of oral appliances in the management of upper airway sleep disorders like snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). METHODS Oral appliances were prescribed in eight cases of non - apneic snoring and 42 polysomnography (PSG) diagnosed cases of OSA. The cases were assessed on Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Apnea - Hypopnea Index (AHI). RESULT 62.5% of the non - apneic snoring cases reported gross reduction/cessation of snoring. In the OSA cases, the mean AHI and ESS scores decreased from 51.48 ± 23.70 to 32.78 ± 18.06 and 12.50 ± 3.57 to 7.20 ± 2.917 respectively. A statistically significant (p<0.0001) improvement in AHI and ESS scores was observed. CONCLUSION Short term therapeutic efficacy of oral appliances therapy in non-apneic snoring and OSA cases was observed.