Ivanhoe J R, Attanasio R
Department of Oral Rehabilitation, School of Dentistry, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia, USA.
Dent Clin North Am. 2001 Oct;45(4):733-58.
Many patients with upper airway sleep disorders can be successfully treated with oral appliance therapy. It is necessary for dentists to recognize these patients and refer them to a physician for further evaluation. Dentists must not become the primary care providers for these patients or attempt to treat a medical problem with an oral appliance without a proper diagnosis, which usually requires a sleep study and can only be diagnosed by a physician. Dentists must also be able to treat the patients referred by physicians and to follow accepted procedures when fabricating, inserting, titrating, and providing follow-up care for oral appliance therapy. In addition, the dental community needs to continue to heighten the awareness in their local medical community and in their patient population as to the possible contribution of oral appliance therapy to the management of snoring and some of the sleep-related breathing disorders.
许多上气道睡眠障碍患者可通过口腔矫治器疗法获得成功治疗。牙医有必要识别出这些患者，并将他们转介给医生进行进一步评估。牙医绝不能成为这些患者的初级保健提供者，也不能在没有正确诊断的情况下试图用口腔矫治器治疗医疗问题，而这通常需要进行睡眠研究，且只能由医生进行诊断。牙医还必须能够治疗医生转介的患者，并在制作、插入、滴定和提供口腔矫治器疗法的后续护理时遵循公认的程序。此外，牙科界需要继续提高当地医学界及其患者群体对口腔矫治器疗法在治疗打鼾和一些与睡眠相关的呼吸障碍方面可能贡献的认识。
