An interim oral appliance as a screening tool during drug-induced sleep endoscopy to predict treatment success with a mandibular advancement device for obstructive sleep apnea.

PURPOSE: Previous studies have shown a wide range of efficacy (29 to 71%) of a mandibular advancement device (MAD) in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Currently, the ability to preselect suitable patients for MAD therapy based on individual characteristics related to upper airway collapsibility is limited. We investigated if the use of non-custom interim MAD during drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) could be a valuable screening tool to predict MAD treatment outcome. METHODS: In a single-center prospective study including a consecutive series of patients with OSA, we compared DISE outcomes with a MAD in situ with polysomnography results after 3 months of using the same MAD that was used during DISE. RESULTS: Of 41 patients who completed the study, the median apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 16.0 events/h [IQR 7.4-23.4]. Respiratory outcomes on polysomnography, including apnea index (AI), total AHI, AHI in supine position, and oxygen desaturation index, all significantly improved after 3 months of MAD treatment. With complete improvement of the upper airway obstruction with the MAD in situ during DISE in supine position, patients were 6.3 times more likely to be a responder to MAD treatment compared to patients with a persisting complete obstruction, although not statistically significant (OR 6.3; 95%CI 0.9-42.7; p = 0.060). CONCLUSION: The potential predictive value with regard to MAD therapy outcomes of the use of an interim MAD during DISE would be an important finding, since the prediction of MAD therapy outcome is of great clinical and scientific interest. A study with a larger cohort should be performed to further investigate our findings.

Do dental parameters predict severity of obstructive sleep apnea and mandibular advancement device therapy outcomes? A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Mandibular Advancement Devices (MAD's) are oral appliances commonly used in treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). OSA severity and certain other factors, such as BMI and neck circumference, correlate with MAD therapy success. So far, the predictive value of dental parameters, such as dental profile, molar-classification, overjet, overbite, maximal retrusion, maximal protrusion and protrusive range, has not been fully investigated. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate whether dental parameters influence OSA severity and MAD therapy outcome and could therefore be helpful in phenotyping OSA patients. Furthermore, we studied the predictive power of dental parameters for OSA severity and successful MAD therapy. We hypothesise that specific dental parameters correlate with more severe OSA and with more successful MAD treatment. METHODS: We performed a cohort study, including OSA patients diagnosed by polysomnography (PSG). Dental parameters were collected. Objective treatment outcome was collected by performing a PSG with MAD after three months of therapy. Differences between OSA severity groups and MAD treatment outcomes were analysed and dental parameters were correlated between groups. RESULTS: The relation between dental parameters and OSA severity was analysed in 143 patients, fifty patients had a PSG with MAD in situ after a 3-month therapy. The median baseline Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI) significantly reduced from 17.6 (8.7-29.3) to 11.1 (5.5-17.5). Overbite and maximal retrusion differed significantly between mild, moderate and severe OSA. Other dental parameters did not differ significantly between the groups, nor correlated with OSA severity or MAD treatment outcome. CONCLUSION: In this study, no correlation between dental parameters and OSA severity or MAD treatment outcomes was found. Therefore, screening patients for OSA and MAD treatment outcome based on dental parameters is currently not possible.