Assessment of oropharyngeal respiratory volume and sleep apnoea scores using peripheral arterial tonometry may improve diagnosis and treatment planning of combined dysgnathia therapy approaches

Background Increased daytime sleepiness is a frequently reported symptom in patients with pronounced dysgnathia. Objectives This study investigated possible correlations using home peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) and oropharyngeal airway volume determination in patients with dysgnathia and daytime sleepiness. Methods Twenty patients (13 male, median age 27.6 ± 6.8 years) with abnormal sleep history and 10 skeletal neutral configured controls (6 male, median age 29.5 ± 4.2 years) with normal sleep history were examined. Patients and controls were evaluated for apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI), respiratory disturbance index (RDI), oxygen desaturation index (ODI), snoring volume (dB), total sleep time (TST) and REM‐percentage (REM). Airway volumetry was measured via CBCT. Individual user experience for PAT was assessed using the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). Results Patients had significantly higher respiratory scores than controls. AHI increased 4.6‐fold (p = .006), RDI 2.5‐fold (p = .008) and ODI 6.4‐fold (p