The purpose of this review is to provide guidelines for the use of oral appliances (OAs) for the treatment of snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in Australia. A review of the scientific literature up to June 2012 regarding the clinical use of OAs in the treatment of snoring and OSA was undertaken by a dental and medical sleep specialists team consisting of respiratory sleep physicians, an otolaryngologist, orthodontist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon and an oral medicine specialist. The recommendations are based on the most recent evidence from studies obtained from peer reviewed literature. Oral appliances can be an effective therapeutic option for the treatment of snoring and OSA across a broad range of disease severity. However, the response to therapy is variable. While a significant proportion of subjects have a near complete control of the apnoea and snoring when using an OA, a significant proportion do not respond, and others show a partial response. Measurements of baseline and treatment success should ideally be undertaken. A coordinated team approach between medical practitioner and dentist should be fostered to enhance treatment outcomes. Ongoing patient follow-up to monitor treatment efficacy, OA comfort and side effects are cardinal to long-term treatment success and OA compliance.Keywords: Mandibular advancement splint, obstructive sleep apnoea, oral appliance, review, snoring.Abbreviations and acronyms: AASM = American Academy of Sleep Medicine; ADA = Australian Dental Association; AHI = apnoeahypopnoea index; ASA = Australasian Sleep Association; BMI = body mass index; CBCT = cone beam computed tomography; CT = computed tomography; ESS = Epworth Sleepiness Scale; MAS = mandibular advancement splints; OA = oral appliances; OSA = obstructive sleep apnoea; PSG = polysomnogram; SDB = sleep disordered breathing; TMD = temporomandibular disorder; TMJ = temporomandibular joint; TRD = tongue retaining device; TSD = tongue stabilizing device; UARS = upper airway resistance syndrome; UPPP = uvulopalatopharyngoplasty.

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Study Objectives: An oral appliance (OA) is a validated treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, therapeutic response is not certain in any individual and is a clinical barrier to implementing this form of therapy. Therefore, accurate and clinically applicable prediction methods are needed. The goal of this study was to derive prediction models based on multiple awake assessments capturing different aspects of the pharyngeal response to mandibular advancement. We hypothesized that a multimodal model would provide robust prediction. Methods: Patients with OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] > 10 events/h) were recruited for treatment with a customized OA (n = 142, 59% male). Participants underwent facial photography (craniofacial structure), spirometry (mid-inspiratory flow at 50% vital capacity [MIF50] and mid-expiratory flow at 50% vital capacity [MEF50] and the ratio MEF50/MIF50) and nasopharyngoscopy (velopharyngeal collapse with Mueller maneuver and mandibular advancement). Treatment response was defined by 3 criteria: (1) AHI < 5 events/h plus ≥ 50% reduction, (2) AHI < 10 events/h plus ≥ 50% reduction, (3) ≥ 50% AHI reduction. Multivariable regression models were used to assess predictive utility of phenotypic assessments compared to clinical characteristics alone (age, sex, obesity, baseline AHI). Results: Craniofacial structure and flow-volume loops predicted treatment response. Accuracy of the prediction models (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) for each criterion were 0.90 (criterion 1), 0.79 (criterion 2), and 0.78 (criterion 3). However, these prediction models including phenotypic assessments did not provide a statistically significant improvement over clinical predictors only. Conclusions: Multimodal awake phenotyping does not enhance OA treatment outcome prediction. These office-based, awake assessments have limited utility for robust clinical prediction models. Future work should focus on sleep-related assessments. Citation: Sutherland K, Chan AS, Ngiam J, Dalci O, Darendeliler MA, Cistulli PA. Awake multimodal phenotyping for prediction of oral appliance treatment outcome.