[Study on effect of snore guard to upper airway structure of normal occlusion people by magnetic resonance imaging].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the imagery changes of the upper airway and the surrounding soft tissues of local adults with non-apnea who used snore guard and to provide experimental data for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).


METHODS
Thirty students with non-apnea from Hebei medical university were chosen, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to measure the changes of the upper airway and the surrounding soft tissues after snore guards were used. SPSS 105 software was used to analyze statistically.


RESULTS
After the snore guard was put into oral cavity, the change of the average section and volume of the nasopharynx, the palatopharynx, the hypopharynx and the glossopharynx were statistically significant. The average sagittal size, the average horizontal size of the nasopharynx, the palatopharynx, the hypopharynx and the glossopharynx were increased statistically. The ratio of sagittal size, the horizontal sizand the in the hypopharynx and the glossopharynx changed statistically important. There was a decrease of the soft palate, the shape, the height, and the length of the tongue, the difference was statistically significant. The results demonstrated that snore guard affected the upper airway mainly by changing the volume and the shape of the upper airway, there was an obvious increase of the pharynx. The results also showed that snore guard could increase the width (both sagittal and horizontal) of the upper airway and could change the shape of the surrounding soft tissues, which caused air way more smooth. Snore guard could make the indexes of soft palate and tongue change decreasingly, resulted in the straight stand up of the tongue and the forwardness of the soft palate.


CONCLUSIONS
Snore guard is an effective and convenient instrument for treating the patients with OSAS.
Yu
Mei-qing
MQ
Dept. of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Stomatology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, China.
Dong
Fu-sheng
FS
Song
Ren-dong
RD
Liu
Huai-jun
HJ
Ren
Gui-yun
GY
Huang
Bo-yuan
BY
Yong
Ping
P
Ma
Wen-sheng
WS
Lu
Hai-yan
HY
D000328:Adult; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010160:Palate, Soft; D010614:Pharynx; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive; D014059:Tongue