Application of Oxygen on Gagging Patients with Sleep Disordered Breathing: Ten Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction Application of pure oxygen is an easy method to overcome gagging. Aim The objective of this paper is to carry out a ten-year retrospective case series on the application of oxygen on gagging patients diagnosed with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Materials and methods A cohort of 62 private dental patient data was collected for the study over the course of ten years (2007–2017). Patient information used included medical history, vital signs (blood pressure, height, and weight), neck circumference, BMI measurements, lateral cephalometric radiograph, capnograph and a full clinical examination. Results and discussion Patients with SDB and gagging issues have associated clinical findings such as scalloped tongue, mandibular and maxillary tori, skeletal class 2 division 1, narrow arch, deep palatal vault and worn-down dentition. Only one patient out of 62 gagging patients did not respond to oxygen therapy. This patient was identified as having SDB with a psychological component. Conclusion Oxygen is an excellent method to overcome gagging issues in dental patients with history of SDB.