Oral appliances only treat about 60% of OSA cases—and the challenge is selecting which patients will respond to the treatment.

In 2012, Zephyr Sleep Technologies received FDA clearance for its MATRx system, which is used in-lab in sleep disorder centers to identify patients who will be successful with oral appliance therapy while establishing the protrusive position of the lower mandible for effective therapy. Zephyr is now debuting its second generation product, the MATRx Plus, which is a home-based tablet-based, and cloud-connected medical device that performs the same functions.

With the introduction of MATRx Plus to the dental market, Dentsply Sirona Inc and Zephyr have formed a strategic partnership. The goal is to bring together their experience in providing technologies and applications for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatments. In conjunction with its investment, Dentsply Sirona has appointed Stefan Hehn, PhD, vice president imaging systems, to Zephyr’s board of directors to spearhead the partnership.

“I’m excited to work closely with the Zephyr team to integrate existing Dentsply Sirona products and technology with the MATRx and MATRx Plus to make a better, safer, and faster dental solution to treat OSA. This will not only make dentists more productive, but also significantly enhance the patient experience,” says Hehn in a release.

Greg Ogrodnick, Zephyr’s board chairman, says, “We are pleased to have Dr Hehn join our board of independent corporate directors. Dr Hehn not only brings a wealth of experience, but he also has a track record of successfully bringing new technologies and applications to the dental market.”

“Bringing on Dentsply Sirona as both an investor and strategic partner opens up a whole new world of opportunity. A significant challenge to any emerging technology company is building a path to market, and by partnering with a company of Dentsply Sirona’s stature it increases credibility with our customers and provides an established and extensive network to create, build, and deliver the best treatments possible for sleep-related breathing disorders,” says Paul Cataford, Zephyr’s CEO. “We are now one step closer to helping more people lead healthy and productive lives through better sleep.” MATRx Plus is cleared in the US for diagnostic indications and approved in Canada for both diagnostic and theragnostic indications.

With SICAT Air, Dentsply Sirona offers a 3D solution that enables the analysis of the upper airways in the 3D volume and illustrates the workflow of an appliance-based treatment completely digitally through the combination of 3D imaging systems like Galileos and selected Orthophos SL 3D units, digital impressions of the CEREC Omnicam, and the SICAT Air software. With this workflow, dental practitioners can quickly and order mandibular advancement appliances like OPTISLEEP by SICAT that reduce or alleviate the symptoms of mild to moderate OSA.