Sleep apnea and mandibular advancement device : revision of the literature

Sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) is a disorder characterized by intermittent and repetitive obstruction of the upper airway provoking pharyngeal collapse. It is characterized clinically by a triad of daytime hypersomnia, snoring and pauses in breathing during sleep that are normally reported by the partner. Polysomnography is the chosen method for diagnosing this pathology. Patients with this disorder tend to have the following dental and orofacial signs: a retrognathic jaw, a narrow palate, a wide neck, deviation of the nasal septum and relative macroglossia, among others. Dentists should be ready to evaluate the risk-benefit of certain dental treatment options for this public health problem. The treatment of this problem will depend on its severity, with one of the options being the Mandibular Advancement Device (MAD) that is used especially in the treatment of slight or moderate SAHS and in the treatment of snoring, with results that are occasionally very successful. The objective of this study is to carry out an up-to-date literature review of SAHS and to evaluate the role of the dentist when faced with this pathology

Relación de variables antropométricas mandibulares de la ortopantomografía en pacientes con trastornos temporomandibulares

OBJETIVOS 1. Señalar la validez del uso de las OPG en la visualización y medición de las estructuras anatómicas más importantes, mediante el estudio de la correlación de en mandíbulas secas y sus respectivas OPG, de las siguientes estructuras anatómicas. a. Ángulo mandibular. b. Altura ósea a nivel del mentón y agujeros mentonianos. c. Altura y anchura de la rama mandibular. d. Distancia del agujero mentonianos. 2. Medir valores del ángulo mandibular en OPG de pacientes con TTM y pacientes sanos, y ver las posibles diferencias existentes entre ellos. 3. Relacionar el ángulo mandibular con la edad, el género, las clases de Angle, ausencias dentarias, las facetas de desgaste y el tipo de TTM, para determinar si los pacientes que presentan el ángulo mandibular más grande tienen tendencia a padecer patología de la ATM. MATERIAL Y METODO Se realizaron medidas del ángulo mandibular con un goniómetro plástico, y con un calibre marca pressisa se tomaron las medidas de la altura ósea a nivel del mentón y agujeros mentonianos; altura y anchura de la rama mandibular; distancia del agujero mentonianos en 41 mandíbulas secas, posteriormente se realizaron las OPG. Para medir el ángulo mandibular en las OPG se trazaron dos tangentes en él borde de la rama mandibular y el cuerpo, el resto de medias fueron realizadas igual que en las mandíbulas secas .En la segunda parte del estudio se evaluaron las historias de 102 pacientes de la unidad de ATM de la Clínica Odontológica Universitaria y 110 pertenecientes a los pacientes que acuden sin presentar patología. Los datos obtenidos fueron la edad, género, clase de Angle, ausencias dentales, ángulo mandibular, facetas de desgastes y patología de ATM, en el caso de los pacientes con TTM. Todos los datos fueron analizados con el programa estadístico SPSS 19. CONCLUSIONES 1. La OPG es una prueba radiográfica fiable, con una sólida validez estadística, para ser usada como técnica diagnóstica en la determinación de la medida del ángulo mandibular y su correlación con medidas reales. 2. La OPG no es una prueba fiable para medir la altura ósea del mentón, la altura ósea a nivel del agujero mentoniano, la distancia intermentoniana , la altura de la rama y la anchura de la rama mandibular. 3. No se han encontrado diferencias estadísticamente significativas en las medidas del ángulo mandibular entre los pacientes sanos y los que presentan TTM, encontrándose que en los pacientes sanos el ángulo mandibular es mayor, es decir, más obtuso. 4. En pacientes sanos y enfermos, y tanto en el lado derecho como izquierdo, se han encontrado relaciones estadísticamente significativas entre las ausencias dentarias y la medida del ángulo mandibular, siendo éste mayor en aquellos pacientes que presentan una ausencia. OBJECTIVES 1. Report the validity of the use of OPG in the visualization and measurement of the most important anatomic structures, studying the correlation in dry jaws and their respective OPG, of the following anatomical structures. a. Mandibular angle. b. Bone heigh at chin and mental foramina (holes) level. c. Heigh and width of mandibular ramus. (Mandibular ramus heigh and width). d. Interforaminal distance. 2. To measure the mandibular angle in OPG of patients with TMD and healthy patients and look for the possible differences between them. 3. To relate the mandibular angle with age, gender, Angle molar class, missing teeth, wear facets and the type of TMD, to determine whether patients who present the greatest mandibular angle are prone to TMJ pathology. METHODOLOGY Mandibular angle measurements were performed with a plastic goniometer. The bone heigh at chin and mental foramina, the heigh and width of mandibular ramus and the distance between mental foramina (foramen, holes) were measured with a caliper (pressisa®) in 41 dry mandibles and posteriorly OPGs were obtained. To measure the mandibular angle in the OPG two tangents were traced at the edge o mandibular ramus and body. The rest of measurements were performed like in the dry mandibles. In the second part of the study, 102 patients' records were evaluated in the TMJ unit of the university dental clinic and 110 records of the patients who come without presenting pathology were also evaluated. The collected data included age, gender, Angle molar class, missing teeth, mandibular angle, wear facets and TMJ pathology, in case of patients with TMD. All data were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS 19. CONCLUSIONS 1. PG is a reliable radiographic test, with a strong statistical validity to be used as a diagnostic technique in determining the extent of the mandibular angle and its correlation with real measurements. 2. OPG is not a reliable way to measure bone height at chin level, bone height at mental foramen level, the interforaminal distance, height and width of the mandibular ramus. 3. No statistically significant differences were found in measurements of mandibular angle between healthy patients and those with TMD. finding that in healthy patients mandibular angle is greater, more obtuse. 4. Both healthy and sick patients, and both the right and left side, found statistically significant relationships between missing teeth and the values of mandibular angle, being greater in those patients with missing teeth

Switching TNF antagonists in patients with chronic arthritis: An observational study of 488 patients over a four-year period

The objective of this work is to analyze the survival of infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab in patients who have switched among tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists for the treatment of chronic arthritis. BIOBADASER is a national registry of patients with different forms of chronic arthritis who are treated with biologics. Using this registry, we have analyzed patient switching of TNF antagonists. The cumulative discontinuation rate was calculated using the actuarial method. The log-rank test was used to compare survival curves, and Cox regression models were used to assess independent factors associated with discontinuing medication. Between February 2000 and September 2004, 4,706 patients were registered in BIOBADASER, of whom 68% had rheumatoid arthritis, 11% ankylosing spondylitis, 10% psoriatic arthritis, and 11% other forms of chronic arthritis. One- and two-year drug survival rates of the TNF antagonist were 0.83 and 0.75, respectively. There were 488 patients treated with more than one TNF antagonist. In this situation, survival of the second TNF antagonist decreased to 0.68 and 0.60 at 1 and 2 years, respectively. Survival was better in patients replacing the first TNF antagonist because of adverse events (hazard ratio (HR) for discontinuation 0.55 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.34-0.84)), and worse in patients older than 60 years (HR 1.10 (95% CI 0.97-2.49)) or who were treated with infliximab (HR 3.22 (95% CI 2.13-4.87)). In summary, in patients who require continuous therapy and have failed to respond to a TNF antagonist, replacement with a different TNF antagonist may be of use under certain situations. This issue will deserve continuous reassessment with the arrival of new medications. © 2006 Gomez-Reino and Loreto Carmona; licensee BioMed Central Ltd