STUDY OBJECTIVES To identify upper airway changes in snoring using CT scanning, to clarify the snoring mechanism, and to identify the key structures involved. PARTICIPANTS Forty patients underwent CT examination of the head and neck region according to snoring habits; patients were classified into non-snoring (n = 14), moderately loud snoring (n = 13), and loud snoring (n = 13) groups. DESI...

An infant with cleft palate was referred to cleft clinic of the Orthodontic Department. The mother was concerned to feed the child because of the escape of milk from the nose. Intraoral examination revealed a large palatal cleft extending from hard to soft palate involving uvula. The impression was taken and dental cast obtained. A 3 mm soft and afterward a 1 mm hard Bioplast plate was pressed ...

The papillary layer of the oral part of the human soft palate was studied in 31 subjects of different age by means of histological, immunohistochemical and scanning electron microscopical methods. For scanning electron microscopy a new maceration method was introduced. Results determine epithelial thickness, height and density of connective tissue papillae and their 3-dimensional architecture i...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and efficacy of polyethylene terephthalate implants in the soft palate to modify disturbing snoring. DESIGN Interventional study, before-after trial. SETTING Referral center, institutional practice, hospitalized care. PATIENTS Twelve consecutive patients with disturbing snoring and an apnea-hypopnea index less than 15 per hour and a body mass index of 30 o...

Objectives: To estimate the frequency of fistula formation after two stage repair of cleft palate. Materials and Method: A total of 50 patients having completed cleft palate repair with or without lip repair were recruited from December 2007 to February 2009. Patients were diagnosed on history and oral examination. Informed consent was taken from parents. Width of the cleft measured preoperativ...

OBJECTIVE Clefts of lip and palate belong to the most common birth defects worldwide. Growth factors and genes play an important role in tissue growth, differentiation and induction and upregulation of growth factors, apoptosis and matrix metalloproteinases might be involved in pathogenesis of facial clefts. The aim of this study was investigation of palate tissue in children with unilateral cl...

OBJECTIVE To determine the predictors affecting treatment outcome after application of the mandibular advancement device (MAD). DESIGN Retrospective analysis. SETTING Tertiary care university hospital. PATIENTS A total of 76 patients (68 men and 8 women) who were treated with the MAD for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) were included from September 2005 through August 2008. All the subjects ...

Traditional cephalometrics (1-3), though having the limitation of any two-dimensional (2D) method, has several advantages, including low cost, easy access and reduced invasiveness. Although computerized tomography (CT) has many advantages as a measuring tool for three-dimensional (3D) airway size (4-8), it is time consuming and expensive for· routine clinical use. However, 3D color reconstructi...

OBJECTIVE Many cases of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) involve collapse of the tongue base and soft palate during sleep, causing occlusion of the upper airway and leading to oxygen desaturation. Existing therapies can be effective, but they are plagued by patient adherence issues and the invasiveness of surgical approaches. A new, minimally invasive implant for OSA has been developed, which is e...

AIMS To identify prevalence of delayed detection of cleft palate, and associated factors that could lead to improved identification at neonatal clinical examination. METHODS Audit of hospital notes, parental questionnaire incorporating open ended questions, and telephone questionnaire of junior doctors in the referring hospitals incorporating fixed choice questions. RESULTS Of 344 cleft pal...