ORTHODONTIC TREATMENT OF CHILD WITH OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNOEA SYNDROME (OSAS)

Key words: Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, Mandibular advancement device, Rapid maxillary expansion

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome (OSAS) is a breathing disturbance, characterised by breathing halts during sleep, which affects 1-3% of children. Therapy is different according to OSAS aetiology and it can consist of either medical or surgical therapy, treatment with CPAP or orthodontic-orthopaedic therapy. Orthodontic-orthopaedic therapy consists in using intraoral devices, such as Rapid Maxillary Expansion (RME) or mandibular advancement appliances. In this study the Authors describe two clinical cases of OSAS patients, one treated with RME and the other with mandibular advancement appliance. In both patients an improvement in nocturnal apnoeas and snoring was obtained, as confirmed by polysomnographic tests.