Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28315149›Full record

Trial reportSleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung2017

Can myofunctional therapy increase tongue tone and reduce symptoms in children with sleep-disordered breathing?

Maria Pia Villa, Melania Evangelisti, Susy Martella, Mario Barreto, Marco Del Pozzo

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
38citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
6.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

38 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 112 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Assessment and rehabilitation of tongue motor skills with myofunctional therapy in obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2024
    Pooled it
  3. Guideline
  4. Pooled it
  5. Effects of respiratory muscle therapy on obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2020
    Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Effects of Orofacial Myofunctional Exercises on Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty Outcome: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2025
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Review
  20. Early Childhood Caries and Sleep Disorders.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Maria Pia VillaPediatric Unit Sant'Andrea Hospital, NESMOS Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy. mariapia.villa@uniroma1.it.
Melania EvangelistiPediatric Unit Sant'Andrea Hospital, NESMOS Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
Susy MartellaPediatric Unit Sant'Andrea Hospital, NESMOS Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
Mario BarretoPediatric Unit Sant'Andrea Hospital, NESMOS Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
Marco Del PozzoPediatric Unit Sant'Andrea Hospital, NESMOS Department, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, "Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
Azienda Ospedaliera Sant'Andrea · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeData in the literature suggest that myofunctional therapy (MT) may be able to play a role in the treatment of children with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Our study investigated the effectiveness of MT in reducing respiratory symptoms in children with SDB by modifying tongue tone.

methodsPolysomnographic recordings were performed at baseline to assess obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity in 54 children (mean age 7.1 ± 2.5 years, 29 male) with SDB. Patients were randomly assigned to either the MT or no-MT group. Myofunctional evaluation tests, an assessment of tongue strength, tongue peak pressure, and endurance using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI), and nocturnal pulse oximetry were performed before (T0) and after (T1) 2 months of treatment.

resultsMT reduced oral breathing (83.3 vs 16.6%, p < 0.0002) and lip hypotonia (78 vs 33.3%, p < 0.003), restored normal tongue resting position (5.6 vs 33.4%, p < 0.04), and significantly increased mean tongue strength (31.9 ± 10.8 vs 38.8 ± 8.3, p = 0.000), tongue peak pressure (34.2 ± 10.2 vs 38.1 ± 7.0, p = 0.000), and endurance (28.1 ± 8.9 vs 33.1 ± 8.7, p = 0.01) in children with SDB. Moreover, mean oxygen saturation increased (96.4 ± 0.6 vs 97.4 ± 0.7, p = 0.000) and the oxygen desaturation index decreased (5.9 ± 2.3 vs 3.6 ± 1.8, p = 0.001) after MT.

conclusionsOropharyngeal exercises appear to effectively modify tongue tone, reduce SDB symptoms and oral breathing, and increase oxygen saturation, and may thus play a role in the treatment of SDB.

Indexed as

Myofunctional TherapyChildFemaleHumansItalyMaleSleep Apnea, ObstructiveTongueChildrenMyofunctional therapyObstructive sleep apneaOropharyngeal exercises

Identifiers

PMID28315149
OpenAlexW2595137271

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.