Comparison of upper airway post oral appliance therapy in patients with obstructive sleep apnea using 3 different modalities (lateral cephalogram, acoustic pharyngometry and CBCT)- A prospective clinical study

Abstract

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a condition that results due to partial or complete obstruction of airway when patient assumes a supine position and goes to sleep. of study was to compare the changes in upper airway resulting with oral appliance in treatment of OSA using lateral cephalogram, Acoustic Pharengometry (AP) and CBCT and correlate with AHI changes. OSA subjects treated with oral appliance therapy (OAT) had a significant improvement in upper airway diemensions. Study assessed the changes in upper airway following oral appliance for treatment of OSA using Lateral cephalogram, AP and CBCT and correlated the changes with AHI. The following conclusions can be drawn from this study (a)There is a marked improvement in mean volume, mean area and minimum distance of constriction in upper airway following OAT assessed using Lateral cephalogram, AP and CBCT. (b) Among the above 3 modalities, CBCT shows a statistically significant correlation with change in AHI following OAT.