Abstract
The polysomnographic efficacy of a novel tongue-stabilizing device (TSD) in the treatment of snoring and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) was evaluated in this pilot study. Six current users of the TSD with SDB underwent polysomnography with and without the TSD in situ in a randomized crossover design. The TSD significantly lowered the frequency of snores per hour slept (61- to 70-dB range) (no TSD: mean = 41/h slept ± 52 SD; TSD: 8/h slept ± 16 SD; P = 0.046) but did not alter snoring in the other decibel ranges (all Ps > 0.1). Trends were found for reductions in the frequency of apneas plus hypopneas (no TSD: 26/h slept ± 17/h slept; TSD: 15/h slept ± 13; P = 0.06) and oxygen desaturations of 4% or more (no TSD: 10/h slept ± 10; TSD: 5/h slept ± 5; P = 0.09). Significant improvements in microarousal frequency with the TSD were found (no TSD: 34/h slept ± 16; TSD: 22/h slept ± 14; P = 0.004). Significant reductions in percentage of Stage 1 sleep with the TSD were also demonstrated (no TSD: 10 ± 3%; TSD: 8 ± 2%; P = 0.03). The results of this small pilot study indicate that the TSD may be effective in reducing snoring severity and microarousals, with favorable trends for reducing SDB severity in selected individuals. Additional larger prospective studies are required to identify suitable candidates for TSD use in the treatment of snoring and SDB.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Lugaresi E, Mondini S, Zucconi M, Montagna P, Cirignotta F. Staging of heavy snorers’ disease: a proposal. Bull Eur Physiopathol Respir 1983;19:590–594
Sullivan CE, Berthon-Jones M, Issa FG, Eves L. Reversal of obstructive sleep apnoea by continuous positive airway pressure applied through the nares. Lancet 1981;1:862–865
McArdle N, Devereux G, Heidarnejad H, et al. Long-term use of CPAP therapy for sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1999;159:1108–1114
Lowe AA. Dental appliances for the treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. In: Kryger MA, Roth T, Dement WC, eds. Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders; 1994:722–735
Schmidt-Nowara W, Lowe AA, Wiegand L, et al. Oral appliances for the treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea: a review. Sleep 1995;18:501–510
Ferguson KA, Ono T, Lowe AA, Keenan SP, Fleetham JA. A randomized crossover study of an oral appliance vs. nasal continuous positive airway pressure in the treatment of mild-moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Chest 1996;109:1269–1275
Cartwright RD, Samelson CF. The effects of a nonsurgical treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. The tongue-retaining device. JAMA 1982;248:705–709
Cartwright R, Ristanovic R, Diaz F, Caldarelli D, Alder G. A comparative study of treatments for positional sleep apnea. Sleep 1991;14:546–552
Ferguson KA, Love LL, Ryan CF. Effect of mandibular and tongue protrusion on upper airway size during wakefulness. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1997;155:1748–1754
Ono T, Lowe AA, Ferguson KA, Pae EK, Fleetham JA. The effect of the tongue retaining device on awake genioglossus muscle activity in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 1996;110:28–35
Douglas NJ, Thomas S, Jan MA. Clinical value of polysomnography. Lancet 1992;339:347–350
Rechtschaffen A, Kales A. A Manual of Standardised Terminology, Techniques and Scoring System for Sleep Stages of Human Subjects Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles; 1968
Gould GA, Whyte KF, Rhind G B et al. The sleep hypopnea syndrome. Am Rev Respir Dis 1988;137:895–898
Atlas Task Force of the American Sleep Disorders Association. EEG arousals: scoring rules and examples. A preliminary report. Sleep 1992;15:174–184
Hills M, Armitage P. The two-paired crossover trial. Br J Pharmacol 1979;8:7–20
Bryman A, Cramer D. Quantitative Data Analysis with SPSS for Windows London: Routledge 1997
Clark GA, Cartwright RD. A survey of treatment efficacy of patients fitted with tongue retaining device. Sleep Res 1995;24:213–213
Stradling JR, Negus TW, Smith D. Mandibular advancement devices for the control of snoring. Eur Respir J 1998;11:447–450
Cartwright RD. Predicting response to the tongue retaining device for sleep apnea syndrome. Arch Otolaryngol 1985;111:385–388
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kingshott, R.N., Jones, D.R., Taylor, D.R. et al. The Efficacy of a Novel Tongue-Stabilizing Device on Polysomnographic Variables in Sleep-Disordered Breathing: A Pilot Study. Sleep Breath 6, 69–76 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-002-0069-1
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-002-0069-1