[Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome using a mandibular advancement prosthesis: review of the literature].

The treatment of OSAS with prosthetic devices displacing forward and lowering the mandible in order to increase the size of the pharyngeal airway is seldom used at present. Some recent publications attracted our interest and we deemed it of interest to review them. Our work is mostly concerned with objective results as assessed by polysomnography, and also with cephalometric changes caused by the device. In spite of equivocal results at polysomnography, which seldom met commonly accepted criteria of successful treatment, indiscutable therapeutic successes have been reported. Therefore, this simple, reversible and cheap devices could be advocated in cases of mild or moderate OSAS. However, their role in the therapeutic armamentarium of OSAS as well as their indications and efficacy need to be better assessed.