Clinical trial of an oral vestibular shield for the control of snoring

Stock intra-oral vestibular shields of a heat malleable, semiflexible ethylene vinyl-acetate material were adapted at chairside to the mouths of 77 chronic snorers. The effectiveness of the shield in controlling snoring was assessed eight to ten weeks after fitting. 77.9 per cent of subjects benefitted from wearing the device. Of the subjects who failed to benefit nine (11.7 per cent) appeared to have nasal or naso-pharyngeal obstruction. A further five (6.5 per cent) abandoned the clinical trial due to poor self-motivation while two subjects (2.6 per cent) were unable to tolerate the shield in the mouth. The potential of the device in the management of obstructive sleep apnoea warrants further investigation.