Both snoring and apnoea are caused by the collapse of soft tissue in the up
per airways during sleep. increasing the cross-sectional area of the airway
s in these segments by moving; the mandible and/or the tongue forward stabi
lizes the upper airways in obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) patient
s. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Noiselezz, which is
an oral appliance of the mandibular advancing type, designed for easy use.
Twenty-one patients, all men (aged 50.6+/-10.4, body mass index 26.5+/-3.3
) were included in the study. Polysomnography (PSG) was performed before th
e patients started using Noiselezz. After a period of 2 weeks accustomizing
to the oral device, the patients had another PSG performed with Noiselezz
inserted. We found no significant differences in total sleep time, percenta
ge of time spent snoring, duration of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. slow-
wave sleep, inter-sleep wake and sleep efficiency, apnoea/hypopnoea index (
AHI) or lowest measured oxygen saturation after apnoea (minSaO(2)). No sign
ificant differences were found in the localization of obstructions or intra
thoracal inspiratory pressure with and without the use of the Noiselezz ora
l device. Three patients (14%) reported satisfaction with treatment by the
oral device. All three continued to use Noiselezz as treatment. The rest of
the patients (86%) either did not tolerate the device at all or tried it f
or a period and then requested alternative treatment (n = 12). Most patient
s found the oral device "Noiselezz" inconvenient to use, and our results sh
ow that the device has little or no effect on snoring and sleep apnoea.