Clinical efficacy study of position-responding mandibular advancement device in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Objectives: Although mandibular advancement device (MAD) treatment is effective in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), there are still some concerns about its potential therapeutic and side effects. Thus, we developed a novel MAD that auto-titrates depending on its position in patients with OSA. Therefore, we conducted a clinical trial to determine the efficacy of an auto-titrating mandibular advancement device (AMAD) for treating OSA.

Methods: Fourteen patients with OSA were enrolled in this study. Polysomnography (PSG) was conducted at the start of the clinical trial, and PSG with AMAD in situ was performed after three months of treatment.

Results: The mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and STOP-Bang scores were 8.21 ± 4.21 and 5.00 ± 1.00, respectively. After 3 months of treating AMAD, STOP-Bang scores improved to 3.75 ± 1.06; however, there was no significant change in ESS scores. Additionally, we found statistically significant improvements in several respiratory parameters in the PSG data after AMAD treatment. The AHI (32.85 ± 21.71 to 12.93 ± 10.70), supine AHI (45.91 ± 23.58 to 15.59 ± 12.76), lateral AHI (13.94 ± 10.95 to .49 ± 7.40), lowest O2 saturation (79.71 ± 6.22 to 84.00 ± 5.71), total arousal number (191.14 ± 112.07 to 86.57 ± 48.80), and arousal index (33.76 ± 21.00 to 15.05 ± 8.42) were recorded. However, there were no significant changes in total sleep time, sleep efficiency, or mean oxygen saturation. Additionally, we did not observe any major side effects during treatment, specifically related to tooth or jaw pain.

Conclusion: Our clinical trial revealed that AMAD improved PSG parameters and reduced the incidence of common side effects. Therefore, AMAD may be an effective alternative treatment for OSA.