Digital Fabrication of an Oral Appliance for Assisted Mouth Closure During Sleep for an Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Patient. 

Introduction

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients

suffer from a loss of neuromuscular control,

and --in this case with bulbar onset-- loss of

jaw- head- , and neck muscle control. The

deficit in muscle activity made it impossible

for the patient to keep the lips closed,

resulting in constant drooling. Initially, mouth

closure during sleep was maintained with a

headgear appliance. However, it was

uncomfortable, and an alternate solution had

to be found. Here we describe the fabrication

process of a pair of intra-oral appliances that

could be held together to keep the jaws

closed.