Tonsils and Sleep-Disordered Breathing: An Analysis of Symptom Screening and Tonsillar Inflammation as Performed by Dental Providers.

Abstract

Tonsillectomies traditionally have been used as the first line of treatment for children with sleep-disordered breathing. The purpose of the research presented in this article is to determine the effectiveness of this surgical procedure and compare it to children that have not had such surgery. A sample comprised 9,317 subjects, of which 537 had tonsillectomies and 8,780 did not have tonsillectomies. The study analyzed: (1) the effectiveness of the tonsillectomies regarding the elimination of swollen tissues; (2) six symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing that remained following surgery; (3) the estimation of post-surgery improvement achieved through the use of a preformed removable appliance; and (4) the total expected outcome for both surgery and use of the post-surgery appliance. The authors concluded that significant removal of lymphoidal tissue resulted from tonsillectomies. Significant improvement was observed in two of the six evaluated symptoms that remained after surgery-interrupted snoring and nighttime mouth breathing. Significant improvement resulted in all six symptoms when the tonsillectomies were combined with post-surgical use of a preformed removable sleep appliance.