Obligatory nasal breathing: effects on snoring and sleep apnoea.

OBJECTIVE

To test the effects on snoring and sleep disordered breathing of a dental prosthesis (Snore-No-More) which is designed to decrease snoring by preventing mouth breathing during sleep.

DESIGN

A crossover controlled trial. Each subject was studied on two nights a week apart. There was a control (no treatment) night and an experimental (treatment) night. The order of control and experimental nights was randomised.

SETTING

The Royal Adelaide Hospital Sleep Laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

Fourteen male volunteers (age range, 36-59 years) were studied. All had a history of chronic snoring but denied other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

INTERVENTIONS: On experimental nights subjects wore the dental prosthesis for the whole study period. On control nights no device was worn.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Studies were conducted overnight during the subject's normal sleep period. The following measurements were made: (i) frequency and loudness of snores; (ii) frequency of disordered breathing events (apnoeas and hypopnoeas); (iii) mean and minimum arterial oxygen saturation while asleep; and (iv) sleep stages.

RESULTS

The dental prosthesis did not change the mean frequency or mean intensity of snores. The number of sleep disordered breathing events per hour of sleep decreased by approximately one-third on experimental nights (mean +/- SEM events/h: control, 24.7 +/- 5.3; experimental, 16.1 +/- 3.3, P less than 0.05). Neither sleep architecture nor arterial oxygen saturation differed between control and experimental nights.

CONCLUSION

Snores using the dental prosthesis Snore-No-More to produce obligatory nasal breathing are unlikely to experience clinical benefit.