PATIENT-REPORTED OUTCOMES WHILE MANAGING OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA WITH ORAL APPLIANCES: A SCOPING REVIEW

This scoping review aims to describe dental treatment-related patient-reported outcomes (dPROs) while using oral appliances (OAs) to manage obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children and adults.

Available literature that assessed dPROs in children and adults with OSA managed through OAs. Any clinical studies were included without restrictions of year or country. The results were analyzed and reported using narrative text and tables accompanying a descriptive summary.

The searches identified 1718 citations, and of these, forty-five studies were finally included. A total of 3498 adults were included in all 42 primary studies included in this review, in which all the studies presented adults as participants. The dPROs assessed were quality of life (QoL), reported side effects after OA usage, patient satisfaction, and experience with treatment, and subjective perception of occlusal changes after treatment.

This scoping review suggests that dPROs are mostly investigated as a secondary outcome from major studies exploring the effects of OAs on OSA severity, and often, dPROs are not well discussed or displayed on their report. As no risk of bias or certainty level assessment was completed, findings need to be carefully considered. Although in general terms management with OAs among adults with OSA does not seem to be uncomfortable or causing major problems to their lives, some mild discomfort and endured occlusal disturbances was reported in some studies. QoL seems to improve but consistent agreement was elusive. Data does not include experiences among those that dropped OA use. No data seems to exist about dPROs in children.