[Dental device (sleep splint)].

Sleep splint, which is a dental device made of regin, is now widely used for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in our country. This device is worn in the mouth at night and makes the upper airway opened during sleep. It enlarges the velopharyngeal space as well as the space at the tongue base and prevents the collapse of the upper airway. This device is a treatment of choice for the patients with mild or moderate types of obstructive sleep apnea who are not treated ordinarily by nasal CPAP. When the patients have nasal obstruction, adenoid hypertrophy, enlarged tonsils, or improper conditions of the teeth, sleep splint is not indicated for those patients. At first, nasal obstruction should be treated, and the adenoids and enlarged tonsils should be removed surgically. The compliance of this treatment is better than that of nasal CPAP, and the major complication of this treatment is almost none.