2022 Volume 60 Issue 3 Pages 99-107
We investigated the relationship between sleep nasal obstruction and wearing a device. The indicators of nasal obstruction were nasal airway resistance in the supine position and the five questions about obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (Japanese Sleep Questionnaire for Elementary School Students (JSQ-ES)) of the sleep questionnaire for elementary school children. We compared the two indicators between the group that wore removable orthodontic appliances and the group that did not. As a result, the supine wearing group showed nasal airway resistance values of 0.50 ± 0.13 Pa/cm3/s, and the non-wearing group showed values of 0.70 ± 0.16 Pa/cm3/s, which were significantly larger (p＜0.01). The ratio of resistance in the supine position to that in the sitting position was higher in the non-wearing group than in the wearing group. The total score of the five items of JSQ-ES was 10.5 ± 3.2 points in the wearing group and 12.2 ± 4.0 points in the non-wearing group, which were significantly higher (p＜0.05). A significant positive correlation was found between the supine nasal resistance and the total score of the five JSQ-ES items. We found that nasal obstruction during sleep made it difficult to wear the device. The sum of the five JSQ-ES items in the sleep questionnaire, in which parents of patients subjectively evaluated nasal congestion, reflects supine stuffy nose, which can objectively evaluate nasal congestion. For efficient and safe treatment, we recommend wearing a removable orthodontic appliance based on the diagnosis of nasal resistance.
