Morphological changes of upper airway in OSAHS patients after treatment with oral appliance: a cone beam computed tomography evaluation

Objective To investigate the morphological changes of the upper airway in OSAHS( obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome) patients after treatment with split oral appliance and the mechanism of the treatment. Methods Fifteen patients with OSAHS were included and received split oral appliance treatment. Three months after treatment,the morphological changes of the upper airway,including sagittal diameter,transverse diameter,cross-sectional area and volume were evaluated by CBCT. The apnea index( AI),hypopnea index( HI),apnea hypopnea index( AHI) and SaO2 were compared before and after treatment. Results After treatment with split oral appliance,the sagittal diameter,transverse diameter,cross-sectional area and volume significantly increased( P 0. 05),but the nasopharynx area had no obvious change. The AI,HI and AHI decreased significantly( P 0. 05). SaO2 increased significantly( P 0. 05).Conclusion The size of upper airway of OSAHS patients was enlarged significantly after treatment with split oral appliance which maintained the patency of the airflow in upper airway.