• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.115-126
• /
• 2010

This case report describes the treatment of a 66 year old adult patient with a diagnosis of severe obstructive sleep apnea who was intolerant of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) treatment and oral appliance therapy. An alternative treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with 2 orthodontic microimplants anchored to the mandible providing skeletal anchorage for mandibular advancement was implemented. After a 2 week healing period, a custom designed facemask provided extraoral anchorage to which the microimplants were connected to for titratable mandibular advancement. Microimplant Mandibular Advancement (MiMA) therapy resulted in resolution of the symptoms of severe OSA with a reduction of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), snoring and OSA symptoms.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.65-76
• /
• 1996

Natural sleep pattern and its physiology in childhood are much different from those in adulthood. Several aspects of clinical evaluation for sleepiness in childhood are more difficult than in adulthood. These difficulties are due to several factors. First, excessive sleepiness in childhood do not always develop functional impairments. Second, objective test such as MSLT may not be reliable since it is hard to be certain that the child understand instructions. Third, sleepiness in children is often obscured by irritability. paradoxical hyperactivity, or behavioral disturbances. Anseguently, careful clinical evaluation is needed for the sleepy children. Usual causes of sleepiness in children are the disorders that induce insufficient sleep such as sleep apnea syndrome, schedule disorder, underlying medical and psychiatric disorder, and so forth. After excluding such factors, we can diagnose the hypersomnic disorders such as narcolepsy, Kleine-Levin syndrome, and idiopathic central nervous system hypersomnia. Among the variety of those causes of sleepiness, I reviewed the clinical difference of narcolepsy and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in childhood compared with in adulthood. Recognition of the childhood narcolepsy is difficult because even severely sleepy children often do not develop pathognomic cataplexy and associated REM phenomena until much later. Since childhood narcolepsy give srise to many psychological, academical problem. Practicers should be concerned about these aspects. Childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is different from adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome too. Several aspects such as pathophysiology. clinical feature, diagnostic criteria, complication, management, and prognosis differ from those in the adult syndrome. An important feature of childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is the variety of severe complications such as behavioral disorders, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular symptoms, developmental delay, and ever death. Fortunately, surgical interventions like adenotosillectomy or UPPP are more effective for Childhood OSA than adult form. CPAP is a "safe, effective, and well-tolerated" treatment modality too. So if early detection and proper management of childhood OSA were done, the severe complication would be prevented or ever cured.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.383-394
• /
• 1997

The purpose of this study was to examine the anatomic changes in the upper airway with a dental orthosis. the effectiveness and side effects of orthosis in the treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. To meet this puppose a dental orthosis, designed to increase the size of the upper airway by advancing the mandible, was used in 42 patients (30 M, 12 F), aged 29 - 69 years, to treat snoring and varying decrees of obstructive sleep apnea. Cephalometric study of anatomic featured was made with and without a dental orthosis, and the evaluation of the effectiveness and side effects of orthosis was done by questionnaires. The obtained results were as follows : 1. All subjects were habitual snorers and 32 patients comp1ained the loudness of snoring as severe as be heard outside of the patient's room. 2. According to the degree of respiratory distirbance index(RDI) and aprea index(Al) from the polysomnograph in 34 patient, mild obstructive sleep apnea patients were 5, moderate 6 and severe 16. 3. Various anatomic changes in the upper airway with denta1 orthosis were as follows : (1) More superioly positioned hyoid bone ( p<0.001) (2) Enlarged oropharyngeal (superior p<0.01, middle p<0.01. inferior p<0.01) and hypopharyngeal (P<0.05) airway space. 4. According to the results of the changes of clinical syptoms after the usage of the dental orthosis acquired from questionnaires, there was significant improvement in the frequently, the loudness and the severity of snoring, cessation of breathing and awakening from the difficulty of breathing during sleep. 5. The effectiveness and side effects of dental orthosis by questionnaires were as follows ; (1) Dental orthosis satisfied almost all the patients (68±20%). (2) Snoring was improved in all the patients (73±19%). (3) Obstructive sleep aphea was improved in all the patients (61 ± 37%) (4) Sleepiness in the daytime was significantly improved (61 ±37%). (5) The sleep quality was significantly improved (61±37%). (6) The discomfort of the dental orthosis was minor (33±18%) and no serious complications were observed. 6. The dental orthosis is an effective treatment for the symptom of snoring, and it can also effectively treat varying degrees of obstructive sleep apnea.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.68-71
• /
• 2005

We report a case of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, which occurred primarily during the REM sleep stage. A 55-year-old female patient who complained of chronic insomnia on the initial visit turned out to have obstructive sleep apnea syndrome of a mild degree (respiratory disturbance index (RDI) of 13.8/hour, %time spent below 90% of SaO2=5.0%) on nocturnal polysomnography. Interestingly, apnea episodes and desaturations mainly occurred during REM sleep stage. And RDI and destaturations during REM sleep stage were found to be severe enough to classify as a severe degree of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. These findings suggest that severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome might be masked under the symptom of chronic insomnia and that apneas can be predominantly localized within REM sleep epochs. In terms of treatment, "REM sleep-dependent" apneas may call for different methods of treatment, especially REM sleep-specific pharmacological intervention.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.106-109
• /
• 2004

Adenotonsillar hypertrophy is the leading cause of childhood obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in childhood, however, can occur from various causes such as obesity or craniofacial abnormalities. Childhood obstructive sleep apnea syndrome can be accompanied by enuresis, parasomnias and behavior problems. For patients with the symptoms of snoring and apnea, obstructive sleep apnea should be suspected and diagnosed properly. In addition, the evaluation of complications and proper treatment are indispensable. When the cause of childhood obstructive sleep apnea is adenotonsillar hypertrophy, symptoms can be improved by surgical methods. If the cause is other than adenotonsillar hypertrophy, such as obesity, it should be treated with other therapeutic modalities, like nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP), weight reduction and modification of life style. This paper reports a case of nCPAP used to manage severe sleep apnea when it was not resolved after adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy. Differential diagnosis of narcolepsy in a case with excessive daytime sleepiness and reflections on accompanying enuresis and parasomnia were also described.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.43 no.1
• /
• pp.81-90
• /
• 2013

Purpose: This study was done to test structural equation modeling of health-related quality of life (QOL) of men with obstructive sleep apnea in order to identify parameters affecting QOL and provide guidelines for interventions and strategies to improve QOL in these patients. Methods: Model construction was based on 'The conceptual model of patient outcome in health-related QOL' by Wilson and Cleary, using the variables; age, physiological factors, social support, cognitive appraisal, symptoms and QOL. Participants were 201 adult male patients recruited at a tertiary university hospital in Seoul. Data were collected via questionnaires, polysomnography, and clinical records. Results: Age and symptoms directly influenced QOL. Social support and cognitive appraisal about sleep did not have a direct influence on QOL, but indirectly affected it via symptoms. QOL was lower in patients who were younger and had more severe symptoms. Symptoms were more severe for patients with lower social support and more dysfunctional cognitive appraisal. When social support was lower, cognitive appraisal was more dysfunctional. Conclusion: These results suggest it is necessary to not only manage symptoms, but also apply interventions to increase social support and cognitive appraisal about sleep in order to increase QOL in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
• /
• v.48 no.3
• /
• pp.96-105
• /
• 2023

Purpose: Mandibular advancement devices (MAD) are known to be insufficiently effective in all patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study aimed to compare the treatment outcomes of MAD therapy according to OSA severity and to investigate the risk factors for the lack of response to MAD therapy. Methods: A total of 29 patients diagnosed with OSA received an adjustable two-piece MAD treatment. Sleep parameters measured with the home sleep apnea test device, including apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and oxygen saturation (SpO₂), and daytime sleepiness using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were retrospectively assessed both before and after the MAD treatment. Results: The patients were classified into three groups according to AHI severity: mild (n=16, AHI<15), moderate (n=6, 15≤AHI<30), and severe OSA (n=7, AHI≥30). MAD therapy significantly improved the sleep parameters (p<0.001 for AHI and p=0.004 for minimum SpO₂) and daytime sleepiness (p<0.001 for ESS). Furthermore, successful outcomes (reduction in AHI>50% and AHI<10 events/h) were achieved in 83.3% and 71.4% of moderate and severe OSA cases, respectively. Of 13 patients with moderate and severe OSA, 10 were classified as responders and 3 as non-responders. The non-responders had significantly lower baseline value of SpO₂ (p=0.049 for average SpO₂ and p=0.007 for minimum SpO₂) and higher baseline AHI (p=0.049) than the responders. Conclusions: The results of the present study suggest that MAD is effective in the majority of patients with OSA of varying severities. The success of MAD therapy does not seem to depend solely on AHI severity. In addition to AHI, minimum SpO₂ may be a prognostic measure of the efficacy of MAD treatment in clinical dental practice.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2022

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is still a serious public health problem. COVID-19 causes various symptoms not only in the respiratory system but also in various parts of the body and has a significant effect on sleep. Insomnia and poor sleep quality were observed at high rates in patients with COVID-19 as well as in the uninfected general population. Obstructive sleep apnea is also considered a risk factor in patients with severe COVID-19. Virus-induced central nervous system damage is likely to be the cause of many sleep disorders in COVID-19, but psychosocial influences also seem to have played a significant role. Sleep problems persisted at high rates for a considerable period after the infection phase was over. More attention and research on the effect of COVID-19 on sleep is needed in the future.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.50-54
• /
• 2004

The obstructive sleep apnea syndrome can occur due to various etiologies in children. In otherwise healthy children, adenotonsillar hypertrophy is the leading cause of childhood obstuctive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea caused by adenotonsillar hypertrophy can lead to a variety of symptoms and sequelae such as behavioral disturbance, enuresis, failure to thrive, developmental delay, cor pulmonale, and hypertension. So if obstructive sleep apnea is clinically suspected, proper treatment should be administered to the patient after diagnostic examinations. More than 80% improvement is seen in symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea caused by adenotonsillar hypertrophy in children after tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. However, when it is impossible to treat the patient using surgical methods or residual symptoms remained after tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, additional treatments such as weight control, sleep position change, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), should be considered. This paper reports a case using weight control and Auto-PAP to control mild sleep apnea and snoring, which in long-term follow-up were not resolved after tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for severe obstructive sleep apnea.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
• /
• v.41 no.1
• /
• pp.7-15
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Mandibular advancement device (MAD) is widely recognized as an important treatment option for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and is readily accepted than any other treatment options owing to its simplicity and ambulatory nature. At this time, there are a multitude of MAD designs and their efficacies may be influenced by adjustment and retention mechanism. The MAD with the anterior connector (anteriorly adjustable mandibular advancement device, AAMAD) was newly developed in the Department of Oral Medicine, Dankook University Dental Hospital (Cheonan, Korea) and was prescribed for the OSA patients including snoring patients. Thus, this study was aimed to objectively investigate the effectiveness of the AAMAD on the OSA patients using the self-applied portable device (ApneaLink), and evaluate the treatment outcomes among patients with various severity of OSA level. Methods: Results of the treatment of fourteen patients (13 male, 1 female) with the AAMAD were retrospectively analyzed. Each patient underwent home sleep test before treatment and were divided into two groups, i.e., those with mild (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] ${\geq}5$ and <15) to moderate OSA (AHI ${\geq}15$ and <30) and severe OSA (AHI ${\geq}30$). After treatment, home sleep test was conducted again and treatment outcomes were compared between mild to moderate and severe OSA patients. Results: Of all patients, 78.6% showed more than 50% AHI reduction. We found a significant reduction (85.3%) of AHI in the severe OSA patients. Patients with mild to moderate OSA showed the reduced AHI (56.1%). Conclusions: We concluded that AAMAD is an effective oral appliance for the majority of OSA patients.